Beautiful Rose
by silverserein
Summary: Wall Maria had been invaded by the monstrous creatures humanity called Titans. Young, carefree Alex Bellerose had lost so much from that day, but also gained strength. She is determined to pursue her sister's dreams, and carry on the family name in soldiers. But how long can she keep up the cold act?
1. The Beginning (Part One)

**This was originally written on Quotev and Wattpad in 2014 so there are probably a few mistakes and it's probably not the best fanfiction you'll ever read since this was my first story.**

* * *

-Year 845-

"Look Sissy! I got you something," the young girl exclaimed tapping on her sister's shoulder.

The girl turned around smiling down at her, "A rose?" The wide eyed child nodded with an enormous smile plastered on her face. "Isn't is beautiful?" She asked handing it over. The other girl smiled but then it dawned her. "Where did you find this Elisa?" She asked hastily. Elisa pointed over at the garden down the street. The blue eyed girl face palmed and shook her head.

"What?" Elisa asked, her smile vanishing.

The girl opened her mouth but it wasn't her voice that spoke. "Alex! You better keep that girl away from my garden or next time the Military Police will be involved!" An old woman scolded.

"Don't worry! It wont happen again!" Alex promised smiling at the elder.

The woman shook her head. "Stupid orphan brats!" She mumbled walking away.

Alex frowned as she watched her walked back down to her small home. "Alex, what's an orphan?" Elisa asked looking at her sister. Alex smiled at her, "It's nothing. You don't need to worry about it." Elisa stared at her sister for a couple seconds questioning if she should try to ask again, but decided she shouldn't from the look on Alex's face. Instead, she smiled widely and giggled loudly. "Okay!" She chimed. "Why don't we go put this in a vase before it dies, eh?" Alex asked examining the white rose. Elisa nodded and followed her sister into their small household.

It was one of the smallest houses on the East side of Shiganshina. The Bellerose family was never the richest - but at least they had money. Well, had.

Eric Bellerose went MIA months before Elisa was born. The French man was one of the Squad Leaders for the Scout Regiment. One of the best they would say, until his last expedition. No one saw anything, nor knew anything of what had happened. Three members of his squad found his horse, Gabby, tied up next to a thin tree. The horse was unharmed, but Eric was nowhere to be seen.

The rest of the squads tried looking for him, shouting his name as they rode around the outside walls on their horse. Eventually one the squad members found a piece of his shirt. They all knew it was his - he was the only one that wore a dark blue shirt under the light brown jacket. But since there was no body, they marked Eric Bellerose MIA.

Marilyn Bellerose had no choice but to join the Military Police after the birth of her second child and death of her husband. She went straight to training, missing out on almost all of Elisa's firsts. First steps, first word, and even first Christmas. While she was away her young friend stayed and took care of the two children. Marilyn graduated as first of her fellow cadets and instantly joined the Military Police. It provided food and money her remaining family. Even though she didn't get to see her children often, it was better than watching them starve slowly in front of her very eyes. Every other week she would get visit her two daughters, and every time it seemed as if they were getting older, and taller.

In year 841 Marilyn also went MIA while she was dangerously patching up a weak spot on the outside wall. Usually the Garrison Regiment would have one of their own do it, but Marilyn got offered a good amount of money along with three weeks off. She took the job - only thinking of her daughters faces when she told them she would be staying for three weeks instead of three days. But she didn't think of the dangers of the job. There were two different theories of what happened; her grapple cord snapped causing her to fall into the Titan's custody for them to eat; or a taller that usual Titan grabbed her while she was doing her job. Unfortunately no one saw it, the only evidence was her grappling hook plunged inside the wall and half of the cord.

Now, four years later the orphan children are barely surviving on the left over cash from their beloved mother. That, and along with whatever Alex had gotten from pick pocketing. Their mother always told them to stay away from the underground, and the people involved with it. But every once and awhile Alex would go down there to pickpocket. Since she was so short and quick, no one ever noticed her.

Alex placed the rose in a baby blue vase that their father had gotten their mother on their second anniversary. "Oooh! Can I fill it with water?" Elisa asked excitedly tugging at her sisters dress. Alex smiled and nodded, handing the vase over carefully. "Just be careful," she said as Elisa smiled walking out the door.

Only being ten, Alex had learned to grow up quickly to provide for her younger sister. Smiling to herself, she decided she should start dinner. Opening the cabinet she found two piece of almost stale bread and some left over sliced ham from last night. She sighed, taking the items out and closing the cabinet door. That's all they ever had really - bread sometimes with butter, or even meat. One time they even go their hands on cream made with all types of sweet flavors.

The black haired girl tore the two pieces of bread into four parts, then placed the thinly sliced ham on them and made them two again. Suddenly a loud noise emerged from the door and Alex's head instantly snapped over to see what it was. Elisa had ran back from the stream and opened the door quickly, and tripped over her own left foot. The water filled vase flew out of her hands as her face got closer to the floor. Almost as quick as lightning, Alex caught the vase gracefully; not letting a single drop of water out of the vase.

"Ow," Elisa said as she lifted her head up and rubbed her nose. "That's what you get for not paying attention," Alex scolded. Then sat the vase on the wooden table. The long haired girl opened her mouth to say something but instead of her voice the sound of bells rang through the air. "Sissy! That means the Scout Regiment is back!" Elisa said excitedly. "Yeah, so?" Alex said her face unchanged. "They're gonna open the front gate!" The six year old smiled. "Can we go? Can we go?" She added on staring at her sister with big hopeful eyes. Alex sighed then nodded. "Sure," she said wrapping the sandwiches up for later. "Yay!" Elisa said grabbing her sister's hand and pulling her toward the gathered crowd. Alex flinched at the amount of people as they squeezed through them to the front. The front gate opened loudly, and horses with injured people flooded through them.

"They're the only ones who made it back?" A voice whispered in the crowd.

"Everyone else must've gotten eaten." Another said.

"This is what they get for going outside the walls," said another.

"Moses! Moses!" A woman said walking to one of the men with a Scouts uniform on. "Excuse me.. I don't see my son Moses anywhere.. Do you know where he is?" She asked taking a step closer to the man. "This is Moses mother," the man explained, "go get it."

The woman stepped back widening her eyes as one of the men walked away then came back with something wrapped around in a bloody cloth. The woman stared at it with fright, then unwrapped it to reveal a bloody and bruised arm. She gasped and covered it back up staring at it as her eyes started to water.

"It's all we could retrieve," the man said emotionless.

The woman broke down falling to her knees as she hugged the wrapped arm of her son. "But my son.. He was helpful, yes?" She asked staring at the dirt. "Even if he didn't achieve direct greatness.. surely my son's death helped humanity fight back, yes?!" She yelled looking the man in the eyes.

The man seemed taken back, "Of course!" Then he titled his head down. "No.. On this latest scouting mission, we.. No.. Just like all the other missions.. we achieved nothing at all!" He yelled then continued yelling.

Alex looked at her younger sister but Elisa just looked straight at the scene in front of them. Then the man stood up straight and started walking forward, the rest of the Scout Regiment following.

"Come on Elisa, lets go back home," Alex said tugging on Elisa's sleeve. Elisa looked at Alex and nodded.

"Do you still want to join the Scout Regiment?" Alex asked as they continued walking home. Elisa nodded, "I want to be just like Daddy!" Alex let out a breath. "You can be like Mom and join the Military Police where it's safe," she explained. Elisa stopped walking and thought about it. "I-I don't know," she said. Alex smiled, "You already look like Mom, so why not just join the Military Police?" Elisa's eyebrows furrowed and she shook her head. "I want to see the outside world. I bet it's beautiful!" She smiled looking up at the sky.

"She's only six, her mind will change when she gets older," Alex assured herself.

They arrived at their house and Elisa ran straight to the old swing their father made for Alex when he was alive. It hung down from the tall oak tree in their backyard. Elisa grabbed onto the rope and ran forward, jumping on the seat at the right time. Smiling widely she spun around in big circles giggling loudly. Alex laughed and walked over to the swing and pushed her sister.

A loud crash and the sight of lightning suddenly happened, knocking everyone off their feet. Elisa slipped off the swing and unpleasantly landed with a loud cry. Alex stood up and ran to her crying sister. "My-my ankle," she wailed. Alex looked at Elisa's ankle. It was twisted in the wrong way making Alex want to throw up at the sight of it. "I-It hurts!" Elisa cried into her hands.

Alex ran into the house grabbing a cloth then damped it with cold water then rushed back outside. "Put this on it, it'll help numb the pain. I'll be right back, I'm going to see what the loud noise was. Stay here," Alex said handing the wet cloth to Elisa. Elisa nodded. Alex smiled at her sister then turned around and ran to where the sound came from. A lot of other people did too, all wanting to know what the sound was.

Everyone stopped and stared dumbfounded at the top of the wall. Not a noise came out of anyone. They all just.. stared with wide eyes and open mouth. There, at the top of the wall was a skinless red hand. Titan steamed rose from where it was. "B-But the wall is fifty meters high! That-that can be what I think it is!" A woman yelled. Slowly a head rose above the wall. It was red, skinless, with a big mouth. Steam escaped out of it's teeth as it shifted it's eyes observing the inside of the walls. It's head bent down slightly as it brought it's leg back; then it kicked the front gate in. The gate went flying into the town followed by a lot of wind. Boulders smashed people; buildings started falling. Alex stood there as the strong wind blew her hair back. She couldn't believe it. A hundred years safe within the walls, why couldn't it just stay that way?

"They're inside!" A man yelled. Screams of all kinds rang through the air. Men, woman, and children cries were heard. Everyone started running the opposite side, to the inner walls. Reality took hold of Alex and she started running towards her house; towards where the titans were pouring in. She turned a sharp corner and ran her fasted, pushing through the screaming people.

"Elisa!" She yelled running over to her now fallen house. The large tree that once stood in their backyard is now laying on the small home. Alex's eyes searched quickly around where she had left Elisa. There. Elisa lied on her stomach on the grass. On top of her was one of the walls that once stood. "I-I can't feel anything!" Elisa cried. Alex rushed over to her and tried lifting up the wall, but it was no use. The wall was make out of stone and wood, it was too heavy for her to lift.

Tears ran down the cheeks of both girls. Alex grabbed Elisa's right hand and held it tightly as she looked into her eyes. Elisa looked over at her left hand that was balled in a fist. She opened it to reveal a slightly crumbled white rose. More tears streamed down Alex's face. "Promise you'll always keep this?" Elisa's hoarse voice asked as she placed the rose in her sister's possession.

"W-what are you talking about? We're going to get out of here!" Alex yelled shoving the rose in her pocket then pulling on Elisa's arms. Loud stomps vibrated the ground, each step growing louder, stronger, closer.

"Go Sissy! Run!" Elisa cried.

"No! I'm not leaving you!" Alex yelled as the Titan got closer and closer. Suddenly someone grabbed her and pulled her away form her sister. She yelled at the stranger telling them to put her down.

"It's either one of you live or both of you die!" The man yelled and started running away with Alex. Alex struggled out of the man's grasp and fell to the ground. "You stupid girl!" The man cursed as Alex stood up.

Her eyes widened in fear and sadness as a six meter Titan picked up Elisa's limp body. The Titan had short blond hair, with big black eyes and a twisted smile. Half of the smile had skin; the other was just teeth. It seemed as if time stopped. Elisa turned her head to face Alex in the titan's grasp.

"I'll wait for you on the other side, Sissy." She mouthed with that sweet enormous smile of hers. Tears flowed down her pink cheeks as the Titan lifted her towards it's mouth.

Then it ate her.


	2. The Beginning (Part Two)

The man picked up the shocked girl and began to run towards the inner walls. Another man; slim with long golden hair walked towards the hole shouting while holding a book. Nobody bothered to pay attention to him. All of them were too busy trying to save their own lives.

The titan's stomps echoed throughout the town. Cries louder than ever. Screams of bloody murder. But no one did anything about it. They simply couldn't. Person after person got devoured alive. Life after life vanished from the surface. All at the same time. Titan steam rose up in many different places, turning the sky from light blue to a light gray color. Dust and dirt flying in the air made it harder to breathe. Blood was splattered everywhere. Most of the blood on the townspeople weren't even theirs.

Alex lifted her head up as the man ran with her thrown over his shoulder. The man from earlier that was yelling found himself in the possession of a brunette Titan. His face was filled with fear as he yelled even louder than before. The Titan brought the yelling man up to it's lips. Alex closed her eyes; not wanting to see anymore deaths caused by the titans. When she opened them she saw the book the man was holding merely seconds ago laying down on the dirt ground. The man's blood had soaked the pages, and Alex knew.

He too, had been devoured by one of the monstrous creatures.

Alex lowered her head. Why did this have to happen? Everything was perfectly fine. So why?

The man set her down on the ground once they were far enough away from the chaos. He breathed heavily and Alex finally got a good look at him. He was one of the members from the Garrison. Not just any member - a close friend of her parents. She had barely recognized him, he was older than the last time she had seen him. He had more wrinkles and creases on his face.

"I-Ivan?" She asked surprised. The man stopped panting for a second and looked at the girl. "I'm sorry I couldn't save your sister. I would've if I could, but it seemed the wall had damaged her spine and paralyzed her. Even if I were to get her out of there she would have lived a horrible life," he explained looking at Alex with sorrowful eyes. Alex looked down. She knew it was true. She just didn't want to believe it. When Elisa had said she couldn't feel anything, Alex knew.

She knew that would be the end of Elisa Bethany Bellerose.

But her own emotions pushed the thought away. Tears streamed down Alex's face and she looked up. "I know.." she said. Ivan looked at her with sad eyes then bent down and grabbed her shoulders. "Now, you're going to get on one of those boats and get out of here, understand?" He asked. She nodded looked back at the crowd of scared people that were hurrying to get on the boats. "Okay now go," he said pushing her forward. "What about you?" Alex asked looking back at him. He smiled at her, "I'm going to do my job and kill the titans."

She nodded as he used his gear and flew away. She let out a breath and ran through the crowd of people. "Discard your belongings! Let as many people on as possible!" A man yelled loudly. He looked at Alex and nodded seeing she didn't have anything but herself. He moved out of the way and let her on to the boat. Alex sat down next to a man who had a grim look on his face. Blood was splatted all over his dull green shirt, but seeing he was unharmed Alex doubted it was all his.

"This can't be happening!" A man choked out.

"Please no.. please no.. Oh god why?" A woman cried.

Suddenly they lifted the platform that made it possible to get on the boat which caused many people to panic. "It's at full capacity! It has to leave!" A man explained. Many complaints screamed from the group of people. There was a jerk then the boat started moving forward. Alex put a hand in her pocket and pulled out the slightly crumbled white rose. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Only less then an hour ago Elisa had given this to her. Now she's gone.

"Let us on! Let us on!" The crowd screamed trying to push through the people holding them back. Two men ran and tried to jump on the boat, one didn't get a good grip and fell into the water. Alex just sat there staring at the rose. A loud boom caused the impatient people to stop trying to push through the Garrison members. Cannons were firing at the Titans, but missing horribly. Screams of the Garrison men echoed and suddenly the gate started closing. The people close enough started retreating; afraid they would be left behind.

Loud stomps echoed through the air. Everyone paused not letting out a single breath. Their heads looked up at where the sound was coming from. An abnormal Titan walked calmly through the town. It was tall, and looked as if it actually had muscles and armor on. Gasps of the Garrison cadets escaped as they took a step back. The abnormal Titan put itself in a running position and looked directly at where the gate was closing. Then it took off running at full speed. The soldiers fired the cannons at it, but it did nothing. All of the soldiers retreated and started running to the gate with their lives on the line. The men screamed telling them to close the gate, but it was too late.

The Titan had ran into the wall shoulder first, creating a large hole in Wall Maria. Soldiers were sent flying into the air along with large rocks that once held the wall together. Debris and dust was everywhere making it hard to see. Everyone stared in shock. No one said anything.

Alex was now standing looking at the Titan. The Titan opened it's mouth and let out fire like steam. Alex's eyes were wide in fear. Once again, she couldn't believe it.

"It's over.." Someone cried.

"We're all going to die!" Exclaimed a woman.

"Humanity is going to be devoured all over again!" said a man.

"Elisa.." Alex thought sadly staring at the now breached wall as it got smaller and smaller. She could already see the Titans pouring in. "No.. No.. This is all too fast.." she thought clutching the stem of the rose. Tears flowed down her face; but she didn't have the look of sadness. No. She was angry.

"Why couldn't I have helped her? Why couldn't I have just stayed with her instead of putting myself farther away? It's all my fault! It's my fault that Elisa isn't standing next to me!" She thought angrily.

The boat arrived at Wall Rose. It was estimated ten thousand people were eaten by titans.

"Come on kid. They said they're going to be handing out food." A man said shaking Alex awake. She blinked and looked around, not knowing where she was. "Tch," the man said walking away. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Elis-" she stopped. It all came back to her. The wall. The titan. Elisa..

She coughed and stood up, wiping dirt off her black and blue dress. It had been torn at the bottom, and blood was smeared on her chest. She gulped wondering whose it was. She walked out of the building to see all the people who made it from Wall Maria on boats.

"Hey! Get in line, will ya?!" shouted a voice.

"Shut up! I ain't eaten anything since last night!" shouted another.

"I didn't even eat anything last night.." Alex thought. The two men continued hitting and pushing each other. Suddenly Alex felt someone tugging on the bottom of her dress.

"Huh?" she said looking down. A short girl with blonde hair stood there looking up at her with brown eyes. "You don't have any food so here you can have half of mine!" she smiled tearing the piece of bread in half and handing one of them the Alex. She looked at the piece she was given. "It's all we get for today.. They told us to make it last," the girl explained then walked away.

Alex sighed and picked off a piece of the bread and shoved it in her mouth. She didn't realize how hungry she actually was.

Going to take another bite, the sound of someone being punched caught her attention instead. She looked over to her right to see a dark haired kid yelling at one of the soldiers. Assuming the soldier didn't like what he had said, Alex saw him punch the kid. The dark hair boy started yelling at the man again but before he could hit him again a blonde haired boy stood in front of the one laying on the ground and started apologizing for his friend's behavior. The man said something then walked away with a disapproving look on his face. Alex shook her head and took another bite of the bread. It wasn't her problem.

She tucked the remaining of the bread in her pocket along with rose. She still had it; and planned to keep with her wherever she went. It was the only thing she had left of her sister.

It had been several days later, all the refugees were tasked with cultivating the wastelands to secure food. But food shortage was unavoidable. In the year 846, the central government sent a multitude of refugees on a mission in name of retaking Wall Maria. Of the two hundred fifty thousand sent.. nearly twenty percent of the population.. not even two hundred survived.

"I'm going to join the Cadets next year, to make my family proud."


	3. 104th Cadet Corps Class

"The 104th Cadet Corps Class entrance ceremony will now begin! You have the misfortune of having me, Keith Shadis, as your commandant! I do not welcome you warmly! In your current state, you'd be nothing but food for the Titans! You're mere livestock! You're less than livestock! Over the next three years, we're going to train you worthless nothings and teach you how to fight Titans! Three years from now, when you come face-to-face with the Titans, will you be still be fodder for them? Will you serve as an honorable barrier that protects the king?! Or will you be a glorious soldier for humanity that drives the Titans out! It's up to you to decide!"

"Hey you!" Shadis yelled staring at the blonde headed boy. Alex had recognized him from when they arrived at Trost.

"Sir!" He yelled back with a salute.

"What's your name?" Shadis asked.

"Armin Arlert from Shiganshina District, sir!" He said, trying to make his voice as confident as possible.

"Oh yeah? Sounds like a name for a fool. Who picked it? Your parents?" Shadis asked eyeing the boy.

"My grandfather named me sir!" Armin answered.

"Arlert, what're you doing here?" Shadis asked leaning in Armin's face.

"To help humanity win, sir!" Armin yelled.

"Well good for you! You'll make great fodder for the Titans!" Shadis said then added,"Row three! Turn around!"

He then walked over to another blonde haired boy. "What's your name?" He asked. The boy saluted, "Yes, sir. I'm Thomas Wagner from Trost District!"

"Speak up!" Shadis shouted at the boy, making him flinch. "I'm Thomas.." The boy started, but Shadis spoke over him saying he couldn't hear him. Alex rolled her eyes, not amused. She watched him as he moved on from the Thomas boy to a girl with dark skin and black hair. He continued down the line, yelling at each poor soul. You could practically smell the fear as they spoke back to him.

He walked down the line that Alex was in. Everyone kept a straight unchanged face. He stopped walking and looked Alex in the eyes. She didn't show fear; she didn't show anything. She just looked straight ahead daring him with her electric blue eyes. "You.. what's your name?" He asked slowly taking a couple of steps closer to her as he studied her face.

Alex blinked and stared into his eyes. "Alex Bellerose," she spoke confidently. His face flashed with surprise, but only for a split second. "Bellerose eh? You wouldn't happen to be related to Eric and Marilyn Bellerose?"

"They were my parents, sir." She said watching him. He nodded taking a step back, "Lets see if you live up to your parents expectations."

Alex glared at him as he moved on to another person. Live up to their expectations? Alex shook the thought out of her head.

"What's your name?" He shouted at a light brunette boy. "I'm Jean Kirstein from Trost District!" Jean shouted back. Shadis carried on with his interrogation, or whatever you would like to call it. "What're you doing here?" He shouted. He smirked, "I want to join the Military Police and live in the interior."

"That so? You want to go to the interior?" Shadis asked. Jean smiled, "Yes, sir!" Sadies took a step forward and head butted the brunette. Jean fell to the ground groaning in pain. "Who said you could sit?!" Shadis shouted. He continued to shout at him but Alex lost interest. Instead she took the chance to observe the people standing in front of her. They all stood straight and stiff, you could barely tell if they were actually breathing or not.

"My name is Marco Bodt!"

"Connie Springer!.." But Alex didn't pay attention to what he said after, seeing that the idiot had saluted the wrong way. Shadis also noticed his mistake, "You got it wrong Connie Springer!"

He had grabbed him by his head and lifted him up. "That's got to hurt.." Alex thought as she watched the scene play out in front of her. His speech was interrupted by a girl with long hair taking a bite of a potato. It literally all of Alex's willpower not to face palm. He suddenly dropped Connie and walked over to the girl.

"Hey, you." He said. "What're you doing?" He added. The girl shifted her eyes to him then looked away and took another bite. "You! I'm talking to you! Who the hell are you?!" He shouted in her potato-stuffed face. Her eyes looked surprised and she tilted her head back, gulping down the chewed potato. She then saluted, "I'm Sasha Braus from Dover Village on the south side of Wall Rose!"

"Well, Sasha Braus. Whatcha got in your right hand?" He asked looking at the potato.

"A steamed potato! They had some in the kitchen and I couldn't resist!" She answered confidently.

"You snatched it? Why'd you start eating it here?" He questioned.

"It doesn't taste good cold. I figured I should eat it now," she said.

"Y'know, I just don't get it. Why'd you eat a potato?" He asked. She looked confused, "Are you asking why people eat potatos?" He said nothing, but stared at her without changing his expression. She suddenly tore her potato in half, "Please have half of mine." She handed him the smaller half. He took it in his hand, "Half?"

Alex stood there watching the girl run. She had been running for five hours straight, and was still going strong. The people that stood next to her were talking about the dropouts. "Hey, you didn't say where you were from," Marco said to the dark brunette. "I'm like him," he said placing a hand on Armin's shoulder, "from Shiganshina District."

Alex looked at him; but she didn't recognize him, other than the incident a few years back with the Garrison soldier. "What about you? You never said either," Connie said and suddenly all eyes were on Alex. She was temped to walk away from shyness but she had to be strong. Be strong and let go of my old self.

"Shiganshina District," she answered bluntly not bothering to look at their faces. Eren and Armin gasped studying the girl. "I don't recognize you.." Eren said. "I lived on the east side," Alex explained. The east side was where most of the criminals were, because that side was considered the 'poor side' of the Shiganshina District.

The two boys nodded but Armin spoke up. "Even if you were on the east side I would think I would know you from school," he mumbled. "I didn't go to school. I was self taught," Alex answered, obviously not enjoying the questions. He nodded and him and Eren went back to talking to the other two boys.

"This is going to be a long three years," she thought.


	4. Big Talk & 3DMD

"Like I said, I've seen it," Eren said looking at the group of people gathered around him. They all gasped. "Are you serious?" Thomas asked in disbelief. "How big was it?" A brunette asked. "Tall enough to look over the wall," Eren explained.

"Huh?! I heard it climbed over the wall!"

"Me too!"

"They said so in my village too!"

Eren looked up, "No.. It's wasn't that big."

"What did it look like?" a girl with dark hair asked.

"It didn't have any skin, and it had a huge mouth," he told her.

"What about the 'Armored Titan' who destroyed Wall Maria?" someone asked.

"People call it that.. but it seemed like an ordinary Titan to me," he said eating a spoonful of soup. "Tch," Alex said to herself shaking her head. "Ordinary Titan my ass.." she thought. That Titan was taller than all the others, and it obviously had intelligence and strength. No other Titan could run as fast as that, or create a hole in one of the walls.

"Then can you describe an ordinary Titan?" someone asked. Eren gasped and pulled away from the spoon full of soup. His eyes showed he was having a flashback, something terrible that must've happened. "Hey, go easy on him. Some things are better forgotten," Marco said.

"Ordinary Titans are about as dumb as a lamp post, and have the craving for human flesh. Shouldn't you guys already know this?" Alex suddenly spoke up. The gathered people gasped and looked in her directing. "Dammit. I probably shouldn't have said anything.." she thought then sighed.

"Aren't you also from Shiganshina?"

"Did you see the Colossal and Armored Titan?"

"What did they look like?"

"Did you see any Titans up close?"

Alex smirked, "You interior folks should listen to Marco here. Some things are better forgotten." Their faces dropped when they knew they wouldn't get any information out of her. Eren stared at the strange girl before speaking up. He took a bite of bread, "Titans aren't a big deal. Once we get used to the 3D Maneuvering Device, they'll mean nothing!" All eyes shifted back to him, urging him to go on. Alex just set her head in her right hand and stared at the now confident boy.

"I'm training to be a soldier at last.. I just got choked up earlier. I'm gonna join the Scout Regiment and get rid of Titans from this world! I'll slaughter 'em!" Alex raised an eyebrow. Scout Regiment, eh?

"Hey are you crazy?" a voice said loudly, taking Eren by surprise.

"Did you just say you wanted to join the Scout Regiment?" Alex had looked over to where the voice had came from; Jean Kirstein. The one who wanted to take it easy and join the Military Police.

"Yeah, so? You're going to join the Military Police and take it easy, right?" Eren asked sitting up straight. "Hey, I'm an honest guy. I figure that's more refreshing than faking bravery when you're actually scared shitless," Jean said with a smug look on his face. Eren suddenly stood up and looked at Jean.

"Huh?" He asked lifting his head up.

"You referring to me?" Eren asked. "G-Guys cut it out," Marco whined. Jean started standing up, "Hey I didn't mean-" He was cut off by the bell that meant it was time to go to our cabins. Jean let out a breath, "My bad. I wasn't criticizing you or anything. Let's shake it out." He lifted up his right hand urging Eren to shake it. Eren stared at him. "Yeah. I was wrong too," he said then slapped Jean's hand and walked out the door.

A girl with long raven hair got up and followed him. Alex recognized her as Mikasa, she too was from Shiganshina. Alex saw Jean's eyes widened as Mikasa walked in front of him.

"H-Hey," Jean choked out.

Mikasa stopped and turned around to face him. Alex stifled a laugh when she saw how bad Jean was blushing. "Oh.. You don't look familiar.. so I.. S-Sorry.. You have pretty black hair." He mumbled looked at the ground. Alex could barely hold it anymore. Mikasa just stared at Jean for a few seconds, "Thanks." Then she walked out the door without saying another word.

Jean stood there speechless. Alex couldn't hold it anymore, she burst out laughing wrapping her arms around her stomach and bending her head down. Her hair hid her face as she laughed. Jean looked angrily at her growling before running outside.

"Hey.. Can you help me get some water?"

Alex stood there next to the blonde hair girl. She had learned her name was Krista Lenz. Krista had asked her to get some water for Sasha while she got some left over bread. Without saying anything Alex agreed, going to fetch the water. And here they were now, standing waiting for Sasha to be done.

After hearing a thud, they walked over to where it came from and found an exhausted Sasha Braus. She sniffed the air then launched herself at Krista, nearly knocking her over, and snatched the piece of bread out of her hands. Krista lost her balance and fell onto the ground. "Bread!" Sasha yelled once she realized what she had in her mouth.

"That's all there is, but I saved it for you," Krista said. Sasha looked at her with wide eyes. "Oh but, you should drink the water Alex got first," she said pointing at me while she held the sack of water. "Are you god?" Sasha asked grabbing Krista's shoulders. "Huh?" Krista asked confused as ever. "You must be god!" Sasha exclaimed.

"Hey," a deep female voice said. All three sets of the girls' eyes shifted to the voice. There stood a tall dark haired girl with freckles painted on her cheeks. "What're you doing?" She asked, directing it at Krista.

Alex recognized the girl as Ymir. Strange, but strong is all she had to say. "Uhh.. This girl was running until now.. " Krista explained while Sasha gobbled down the bread. "So you're trying to be nice?" Ymir asked. "Huh?" Krista asked as Sasha finished the bread and passed out on her lap.

"Did you do it just for the potato girl? And did you get what you want in return?" Ymir asked. Even Alex was confused. Ymir sighed, "Just forget it. Let's just take her to her bunk." Ymir then lifted Sasha's limp body bridal style. Krista seemed taken back. "You're going to be nice too?" She asked.

"By doing this for her, she's going to owe me. I have high hopes for her stupidity."

"First, I'm gonna see just what you have it you! If you can't do this, you're not worth using even as a decoy! And you'll be sent to the reclaimed wasteland!" Shadis shouted. Alex pursed her lips to the side, "3D Maneuver Gear.. Shouldn't be too hard right?"

Alex was first in line. She hooked the hooks to her belt then Shadis yelled, "Life her up!"

The cadet nodded and started wheeling the handle. Slowly, Alex started being lifted higher. It seemed easy; really easy. She put all her weight in her hips and lower body, keeping a good balance. Shadis nodded, "Not bad." Alex was brought down gently and unhooked. She smirked to herself at how easy that was.

She face palmed seeing Eren hanging upside-down. Shadis stood there yelling at him to get up but seeing that wasn't going to happen, he had them lower Eren. Eren got up; eyes wide with shock as he walked away.

Alex leaned against the poll, and watched as Eren got further away from the crowd but closer to her. "It's all in the hips and lower body. Try focusing on putting your weight in that area," Alex said then walked away. He was shocked.

She had given him advise?

"Say, Daz.. Ain't he the one who said he was gonna slaughter the Titans?"

"He'll be heading for the wasteland tomorrow. There's no food here for deadbeats."

Alex shook her head. Honestly, she was disappointed. Eren had so must spirit, it would be a shame to let that kind of willpower go to waste. She sighed picking at her bread. She suddenly felt a presence beside her. She just kept looking at her bread, hoping the person would go away. Sadly, that didn't happen when they spoke up.

"I saw you training. You were pretty good."

Alex rolled her eyes and turned her head to face the person who decided to sit next to her. It was none other than Jean. "What are you? Some kind of creeper?" She asked staring at him with bored eyes. He seemed taken back, "W-what? No! I just glance over and saw you that's all!"

Alex let out a low chuckle then looked back at him. "Y-you know.. You have pretty eyes," he gushed out looking down. Alex stared at him with distaste. "What? They're just blue. A lot of people here have blue eyes," she shrugged taking a bite of her bread. "Well, yeah, I guess. But yours are a different kind of blue I've never seen before," he said scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.

Alex signed then let out a laugh. "If you're trying to do what you tried yesterday with Mikasa on me you'd be better off forgetting about it," she explained standing up. "H-huh? What do you mean?" he asked also standing and following her outside of the mess hall.

"I mean, making friends with just topple over you soon enough. Because when the time comes, more than half of the people sitting in there will be dead. Who knows? It might be me. I'm just saying getting to close to people will only hurt you in the end. Trust me, I would know," she said looked to the side.

Flashbacks of the times Elisa and her played together in their backyard flashed through her mind. Jean stood there not know what to say, so Alex just walked away without another word. The night bell rang and the other cadets poured out of the mess hall, soon enough Jean couldn't see Alex anymore. He wanted to ask her what she meant, and what had happened to make her think that. But she was nowhere to be seen, so with a sigh he walked to his cabin.

Alex lied there on the bottom bunk, above her was Sasha snoring loudly. It almost made her want to kick the bottom of the top bunk. All the lights were off and everyone had fallen asleep by now, except Alex. She sat up leaned against the wall twiddling with the crumbled rose. It wasn't alive anymore, but all of it's petals stayed intact. They were just dull and stiff now, no longer bright and alive like they once were.

It had been over two years since Elisa had given this to her. Two years since she's been dead. Two years of loneliness.

Yawning, Alex place the rose back in her white jean pocket and drifted into a dreamless slumber.

"Eren Jaeger, are you ready?" Shadis asked the boy who stood determinedly.

"Yes, sir!" Eren chimed. Everyone stared blankly at him.

"Begin!" Shadis said. Thomas slowly winded the handle and Eren started to rise up from the ground. Everyone watched him intently as he stood still in the air. Some had their mouths open slightly, surprised he actually did it. The crowd started cheering for Eren as he hung there smiling.

"Yes! I did it!" Eren smiled. Suddenly he yelled and fell backward taking everyone by surprise.

"He was doing so well.." Alex thought.

"No! I.. I can..!" He exclaim hopelessly. "Lower him," Shadis said without emotion. Eren fell to his knees then sat up staring sadly at the ground. "Bellerose," Sadies suddenly said. She looked up, "Hm?"

"Switch belts with Jaeger," he said. She nodded taking off her belt and handing it to Eren. He handed her his and slipped her on then hooked himself back on. Thomas raised him again, and this time her had no trouble at all.

Alex smiled at his success.


	5. Training

\- Year 850-

It's been two years since Alex enlisted in the Cadets. Every week a new group of people dropped out and were sent off to pull weeds and pick up rocks. But it got rid of heavy baggage - so Alex was thankful. She didn't need non-brave, scared out of their mind people weighing her down. Within those two years, she had met new people. There were times where she had almost thought of some of the people as friends, but quickly realized it and continued to ignore them. It was hard, but soon enough Alex got used to it. It didn't affect her anymore - to just drop someone out of nowhere without an explanation. Everyone time she did that and the person walked her way she would find some way to get further away. After doing this over and over again she soon stopped talking to people in general. Unless it was business, there was no reason to have any other conversations.

"Keep running!" Shadis yelled at the cadets while riding on his horse. Some of them sped up a little - others just stayed at the same pace. Alex glared at him while readjusting her bag. All of the soldiers had backpacks on. Each containing basic survival needs; food, water, and even a blanket.

Shadis looked over at a slacking cadet. "What's wrong Arlert?" He asked. "You're falling behind!"

Alex looked back to see Armin struggling to stay caught up. Shaking her head she continued to look forward, passing fellow comrades while doing so. Shadis continued yelling at the blonde haired boy, yelling things like 'running like that, you'll be Titan food!' and many other insults. Alex didn't pay attention to it, only focusing on the road ahead of her as the rain poured on her forest green cloak.

After almost an hour of hearing Shadis' insulting shouting, the 104 Cadet Trainees were done running in the rain, Alex Bellerose being in the lead.

"Tomorrow I will be evaluating your skills with the 3D maneuver gear and how well you slice with the blades!"

Alex glided gracefully with the 3DMG. She had already found two 'Titans' on her own, and successfully slashed a chunk of the nape. Now she was following Sasha, who was following Connie, who was following Jean. None of them knew either of them were being followed, which made it ten times more fun. Alex saw a 'Titan' in the distance, as well as the other three. Instead of going straight for it she took a minor detour to the right, speeding up quickly. Just before Connie and Sasha were going to slice it, Alex used more of the gas and sped up quickly, then in a split second she spun carelessly in quick small circles with her blades out in position and sliced a deep, clean cut in the 'Titans' neck.

"What?!" Sasha and Connie yelled in disbelief. Neither of them had seen her coming, or even anywhere near them.

"Damn Alex! When did you learn how to do that?" Jean asked following Alex with his gear. Alex side glanced at him and shrugged, "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Jean laughed, "Y'know, that trick you did over there looked a lot like Corporal Levi's."

Alex furrowed her eyebrows. "Who the hell is that?" She asked as she watch Mikasa and Eren both go for the same 'Titan,' she could obviously tell their cuts apart. Mikasa's was way deeper than Eren's.

"Corporal Levi? Squad Levi? From the Scout Regiment?" Jean asked as him and Alex both sliced the Titan Eren and Mikasa had.

"Doesn't ring the bell," Alex said truthfully. It was true; she didn't know who this 'Levi' guy was nor did she care.

She looked over and saw Reiner's eyes set on a nearby 'Titan.' Smirking, Alex shot a grappling hook into a large tree and spun around it, then shot both hooks forward and sped quickly over to Reiner. He noticed a small figure out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned his head he saw nothing but trees. The thought bugged him as he sped to the 'Titan.'

"Whoever you are go away! This is one's mine!" He yelled only to retrieve a snicker from Alex.

"Are you sure about that?" Alex asked as she cut through the thick material.

Reiner let out a loud groan, "Come on! I haven't gotten a single one yet!"

Alex smiled at him, "Look harder Blondie!" Then she was gone, but Reiner decided to follow her and steal one of her's to see how she liked it.

"Reiner, why follow me? You know you're not going to beat me," Alex yelled through the wind. Reiner scowled, "We'll see about that!"

The next training was none other than hand-to-hand combat. Alex didn't understand why it was necessary, they were here to learn how to kill Titans; not each other. And of course, she had been paired up with the giant himself, Bertholt. Alex never really had a conversation with him other than small things like 'can you get that' or 'can you get me another blade.'

Bertholt himself had been to shy to even approach the small female. Her eyes always seemed bored, and over all, she just seemed intimidating to him.

Bertholt nervously fiddled with his hands as Alex stared at him with a bored expression. He made eye contact with her for a split second, only to immediately look back to the ground. Alex took a step forward and held out the wooden knife.

"Take it," she demanded. Bertholt looked up nervously and reached out to take the knife, but Alex pulled it away quickly.

"C'mon, take it," she said again, holding it back out. Once again he reached out to grab it only for her to pull it back again.

"Will you stop being so nervous? It's not like I'm going to kill you," Alex sighed crossing her hands over her chest.

"I-"

"Hit me."

"U-um what?"

"I said, hit me."

"But I-"

"Do it, Bertholt."

The tall man looked down at the demanding female. Truthfully, he was scared to the bone. He didn't understand why she was telling him to hit her.

"Stop stalling and do it," Alex said tapping her foot impatiently. Bertholt closed his eyes and let out a breath. This is the first time he'll hit a girl, or really anyone for that matter. Opening his eyes again, he pulled his fist back and swung at the short girl. To his surprise, he actually hit her. In the jaw.

Alex bent down holding her hand to her jaw. Her back moved up and down, making it look like she was crying. Regret washed over Bertholt's face as he looked at the girl.

"I-I'm so sorry, are you alright?" He asked nervously bending down to her height.

Suddenly, Alex stood straight up and swung hard at him. Her fist made contact with his left cheek and she felt the lining of his teeth. While Bertholt was bent over in surprise Alex took the open chance and swung her leg out knocking him off his feet. He landed flat on his back and Alex swiftly pounced on him - her legs wrapped around his waist to where if it was any other situation, it'd look like she was straddling him - and put the wooden knife up to his neck. Bertholt was still surprised and in shock he just stared at her with wide eyes.

"You care too much. Don't be letting your guard down," Alex explained. Bertholt flushed, staring at the black haired girl. Her hair moved softly as the wind blew lightly on it, and her unique blue eyes shined with amusement.

"Get it Bert!" Reiner shouted while Eren whistled at the two. Realization hit him as he looked down to see Alex's legs securely wrapped around his waist. "Tch," Alex said pushing herself off of the brunette and turning around at the other two boys.

"Oh, put a sock in it you two dip-shits!"

None of the cadets noticed them, but standing with their arms crossed was Corporal Levi and Commander Erwin Smith. They both stood far enough away to not be noticed; but close enough to see all the action. The two of them had came there to observe the trainees, get a piece of what would possibly join the Scout Regiment. They both had been watching Cadet Fubar and Cadet Bellerose as the girl demanded the boy to hit her then fake being hurt only to get him to leave his guard down.

"Just like her father," Erwin said with a chuckle. Erwin had known Eric Bellerose, they both had joined the Scout Regiment at the same time. Eric had died years before Levi was forced to join the Scouting Legion, so he never got to meet the legendary Eric Bellerose. Levi eyed the girl as she continued stealing the knife from the giant man.

"She's got some skill, and good at tricking him, I'll say that," Levi confessed.

Erwin nodded in agreement, "I wonder if she's going to join the Military Police like her mom or the Survey Corps like her dad."

"She'd have to get in the top ten to join the Military Police," Levi scoffed.

"Oh, trust me. She will."

Reiner Braun - He's sturdy and gutsy, and has the trust of her comrades.

Armin Arlert - He lacks physical skill, but shows moments of brilliance in the classroom.

Annie Leonhardt - There are no weaknesses in her attacks, but she is a loner who has difficultly working with others.

Bertholt Fubar - He has potential, but lacks aggressiveness.

Jean Kirstein - His 3D maneuvers are top class. But his cocky attitude makes it easy for him to cause friction.

Sasha Braus - She had unusually good intuition, but due to that, she's not suited for organized activities.

Connie Springer - Especially talented in moves that require flexibility. But he's not the quickest thinker.

Mikasa Ackerman - She has a complete understanding of every subject. One of the bests we've had.

Eren Jaeger - Although he doesn't possess outstanding abilities, he has improved his score through exceptional hard work.

Alex Bellerose - Good in every subject, incredible and fast in slicing the nape. Even with her shortness, she's as intimidating as can be. She's quiet and fast, making it hard to comprehend her movements. She moves gracefully on 3DMG and during combat. Even though she's not the friendliest, her comrades would trust her with their lives from how honest she is. Overall, she's just like her parents; incredibly good and takes everything seriously.


	6. Top Ten & Reunions

Alex sat at a table alone in the mess hall. The people around her were talking and laughing; having fun. She scowled at them. Most of them were only here because that's what society expects of them. There were very few people here that actually had a reason.

Alex turned her head listening to Jean's 'advise' which was basically him bragging about how only few people can do certain things with the maneuver gear.

"The interior is pleasant?" A voice said catching some people's attention. Alex looked over and saw the hotheaded Eren Jaeger arguing with Jean, again.

"This place was part of the interior until five years ago," Eren said taking another drink.

"What're you trying to say Eren?" Jean raised his voice as he turned to look at Eren.

"It must be pleasant inside your head, no matter where you are, Jean." Eren said causing a few people to laugh a little. Alex snorted at his remark.

"You bastard.." Jean muttered.

"Don't you think it's strange? We learn our Titan-killing skills to get far away from the Titans," Eren questioned. He did have a point to Alex.

"Why bring that up now? For my sake, I want to preserve this set up!" Jean said. It obviously made Eren made because he stood up angrily from his seat shouting, "You piece of trash!"

"Shut up this is reality!" Jean shouted back. Alex's eyes filled with amusement as she watched the two male figures. "Stop it, Eren!" Armin exclaimed standing up. Mikasa stood up too, "Stop that."

Suddenly Jean grabbed Eren's shirt yelling nonsense, and as expected Eren yelled back. The two boy yelled foolish things at each other when suddenly Eren grabbed Jean's arm and put his other arm in front of his neck and knocked him off of his feet. Jean made a noise and fell on the ground. People in the mess hall gasped when they saw Jean on the ground.

"What the hell was that?!" Jean questioned.

"It's the martial arts I took time to learn while you were wasting time. Taking it easy and going with the flow is reality? How can you call yourself.. a soldier?" Eren asked looking at Jean. The two stared at each other not saying a word. For some reason, it felt unsettling. The silence caused Alex to shift awkwardly in her seat.

The door suddenly creaked open. "I heard a loud noise just now. Someone wanna explain what's going on?" Shadis asked through the cracked door. Jean and Eren both sat down not bothering to glance at each other.

Alex smirked and raised her hand, "Sasha just farted, sir!"

Sasha's eyes widened with surprise. "What?!" She asked staring at Alex. Everyone was trying to hold their laughs in, but they could still be heard.

Shadis put a hand over his nose, "You again? Learn a little modesty!" He then walked out and shut the door. Everyone's laughs filled the air and Sasha rushed over to Alex.

"Why did you say that?!" She asked grabbing her hand. Alex just stared at her with bored eyes.

She continued questioning her until Alex shoved a piece of bread in her mouth.

"Hands over your heart!"

"Yes, sir!" Everyone said following his order.

"From today, you will no longer be soldiers-in-training. You have three choices. The Garrison Regiment, where you will be protecting the cities, working to reinforce the walls. The Scout Regiment, where you must be prepared to take on the Titans outside the walls. And the Military Police, where you will protect the people and preserve order at the side of the king. Naturally, the only ones who can join the Military Police are the top ten scorers who were announced earlier!"

It wasn't exactly ten; it was eleven. Sasha and Krista both got the same score, so they just made both of them number ten. There was a lot of arguing about it but eventually the decided it wouldn't be fair if only one of them got it when they had the same scored.

Alex stood proudly next to Mikasa; their scores were only a number off. But Alex had scored higher, and took place at number one.

"I did it! I'm now in the Military Police!"

"Now we won't have to worry about food!"

Alex rolled her eyes at the remarks.

"Why am I below Eren? Damn it." Jean said talking a drink.

"I don't know, why is that?" Alex asked taking a seat next to the brunette. Jean jumped out of surprise. "I'm still surprised you got first," Jean snickered but stopped immediately when he saw Alex's glare. "On other thought, I take that back." Alex nodded in agreement then got up and walked over to the crowd surrounding Eren.

"You're not joining the Military Police? Are you serious Eren?!" Thomas exclaimed. Alex raised an eyebrow. "You managed to get to the top ten!" A brunette Alex didn't know said.

"It's what I came here for. I didn't train to live in the interior. I wanted to fight Titans," Eren explained. Thomas just stared at him in disbelief,

"You can't beat them!" It suddenly got quiet and everyone turned their attention to the blonde boy.

"You should know. They've eaten tens of thousands of people. When we lost twenty percent of the population the answer was clear. Humankind.. can't defeat the Titans," Thomas continued.

"So?" Eren asked. "Do we just give up because we think we can't win?"

Thomas was surprised, "Well.."

"You're right. We've been on the losing side. But that's because we didn't know how to deal with Titans. Standard warfare is meaningless against the Titans. We may have lost, but everything we've learned in battle will be our key to bringing back hope. Are we going to abandon everything we learned, after so much sacrifice, and just become Titan food? I'm gonna drive out every last one of those Titans, and leave these cramped walls! That's my dream! Humankind hasn't lost yet!" Eren said wrapping his hand in a fist. When he noticed everyone staring at him he ran out of the mess hall.

Alex thought of what he had said. He was right after all. But it didn't change Alex's plans; she was still joining what her sister would've wanted. What her father was so good at and enjoyed.

Alex Ryal Bellerose was going to join the Scout Regiment.

"Here they come! It's the main Scout Regiment!"

"Commander Erwin! Please kick some Titan butt!"

"Look! It's Top Sergeant Levi!"

"I hear he has the strength of an entire brigade!"

Alex stood next to Eren as they watched the Scout Regiment ride by on horses. "Thing are completely different from five years ago," he said to no one particularly. Eren stopped and pointed at the raven haired man on the horse. "That's the guy Jean said you reminded him of," Eren said. Alex gave him an 'are-you-serious' look. "Tch, that shorty?" She said. Eren chuckled, "Sorry to break it do you, but you're shorter than him."

"What?! Are you serious?" Alex asked. Eren shrugged, "How tall are you?"

"Five feet and one inch.." Alex mumbled. Eren burst out laughing, "Are you for real? You're really that short?"

Alex elbowed him in the ribs causing him to lean forward with a moan. "For your information, I am. And I could still beat you up any anytime."

Eren turned around and started talking to the obvious couple. Someone tapped on Alex's shoulder, causing her to turn around quickly.

"Hey kiddo, glad to see you're still alive," Ivan smiled down at the short girl. Alex's eyes widened as she jumped up and embraced the man with a bone crushing hug. "I can't breathe!" He exclaimed. Alex pulled away laughing. "So I heard you were first in the top ten.." He said raising an eyebrow. Alex nodded, "C'mon you shouldn't be surprised! I mean have you seen these muscles?"

Ivan threw his head back with laughter. "I remember seeing you with a light pink dress on with braided pigtail with flowers in them! I wouldn't even think of seeing you here as number one."

Alex rolled her eyes and lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Oh shut up! I know you're proud," she laughed. "Oh course I'm proud! And you know your parents would be too, along with Elisa," he said with a sorrowful smile. Alex sighed, "I know."

"So what are you going to join?" Ivan questioned raising an eyebrow. Alex smiled, "Take a guess."

"Military Police?" He asked. He hoped that was what she was planning on joining. She would be safe; and inside the walls. That's the least he could do for Eric and Marilyn.

Alex shook her head.

"The Garrison?" Ivan asked crossing his fingers.

Alex shook her head again.

"Don't tell me-"

"Yep."

"But why?" He asked.

"It's what I planned on doing from the beginning. You know.. the day Elisa.. died.. she said she wanted to join the Scouts," Alex said sadly.

Ivan cleared his throat and offered a smile, "I'm sure your dad would be proud that you decided to follow in his footsteps."

"Ivan we have to go," someone said catching Ivan's attention. "I'll be right there," he said back. The person nodded and walked away. "Well I have to go. Don't die, or I'll have to kill you again," He said embracing her in a tight hug. She hugged back then watched him walk away. With a smile she turned around, but the smile instantly dropped.

"So.. pigtails with flowers in them?" Reiner and Connie laughed.

"Huh? You're joining the Scout Regiment? But you wanted to be in the Military Police so badly," Eren exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's right! But.." Connie said.

"Looks like your little speech yesterday worked out Jaeger," Alex chuckled cleaning the cannon.

"Huh?" He asked.

"S-Shut up! I decided on my own!" Connie argued.

"Don't look embarrassed. It's not just you," Thomas said scratching his side-burn.

"Thomas.. don't tell me.." Eren started.

"Uhm, everyone.." Everyone looked over at Sasha. Alex noticed a bump on the right side of her jacket and raised an eyebrow.

"I brought some meat from the officers' pantry," she explained pulling out a chunk of meat.

"Sasha.. You'll be thrown in solitary confinement!"

"You're such an idiot.." Alex mumbled.

"Lets split it up afterwards," Sasha said as drool dripped down from her mouth.

"Put it back!"

"That's right!"

"Since we have less land, meat is incredibly valuable," a girl explained.

"It's alright!" Sasha insured.

"If we reclaim the land, we can raise cows and sheep again," she continued putting the chunk of meat in a box.

"I'll have some of that meat!"

"I-I'm going to eat too! Save some for me!"

"For sure! For me too!"

"You guys.." Eren said.

"Why you just standing there Eren? If we don't get back to work they're going to find out."

"There's still time until lunch."

Alex smiled, "Hey Sasha."

Sasha turned around to look at her, "Hm?"

"Save some for me too," Alex laughed standing up and walking over to Eren. Sasha gave a thumbs up then went back to cleaning.

"Hey Eren, don't you want some?" Alex asked raising an eyebrow. Eren opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a loud noise. With a gasp Alex quickly turned around to see lightning.

"But it's not storming.." she thought.

And then it was there. The same skinless face that she had seen five years ago. Everyone's mouths dropped as they stared at it with wide eyes. No one moved. It was exactly like five years ago. Another loud noise and powerful wind pushed all of the cadets off of the wall. Alex scream as she fell and quickly plunged her grappling hook into the side of the wall. She caught her breath staring below her.

The wall had been broken.

Flashbacks ran through Alex's mind as she stared at the hole.

No.. No.. Not again..

"Prepare for battle!" Eren yelled braking her out of her thoughts. Reality caught hold of her. This was really happening. Those three years of training have been preparing them for this.

She was ready.

Quickly she ran up the wall, using some of her gas to help. Her and Eren arrived at the top of the wall at the same time. They both glanced at each other and nodded.

"Hey.. It's been five years."


	7. Protect Him

Eren and Alex both sprinted towards the Colossal Titan. Alex was slightly fast than Eren, but Eren already had the lead in the beginning. Eren was coming from the right, and Alex from the left. The Titan's eyes kept shifting from both of them, then it brought it's skinless arm up and tried wiping them off of the top of the wall. Both of the cadets charged a grappling hook into the hot flesh of the Titan and jumped off the wall before they could be crushed by the destroyed stone. Alex's eyes moved as she watched the Titan's hand knock off the stationary cannons.

"Damn it," she thought gritting her teeth.

The Titan looked over at the black haired girl before reaching it's giant hand out to her. But before it could grab her frail body, she shot her hook on it's back and made her way over to Eren's side. Suddenly Eren latched onto the Titan's arm and started running on it cussing. Alex couldn't understand what he was saying, but decided to follow him and his plan. Obviously he was going to try to aim for the nape of the neck, but Alex knew he wouldn't be able to. He's careless, acting before thinking. Alex cursed under her breath and made her way over to the Titan's other arm. Running at full speed, the two determined comrades jumped up into the air and got ready to strike. But before they could, the Titan released an abnormal amount of steam causing them to be pushed even further away from the nape.

"Eren! We'll both go for it at the same time okay?" Alex shouted at the brunette.

Eren looked over at her and nodded before they both reeled themselves closer to the Titan's nape. They looked at each other for split second before striking at the Titan.

But they only cut through steam.

Alex's eyes widened as she stared at the sky. "We missed?" Eren asked frightened. Before either of them fell to their deaths they both shot their hooks at the wall and placed their feet against it. They were both in shock. Alex turned to look at where the Titan had stood seconds ago, "No."

Eren looked at her, "Huh?"

"The Colossal Titan disappeared, just like five years ago," Alex explained staring at the hole.

"Eren, Alex! We're you guys the ones who took it down?" They both looked up at the blonde haired boy.

"No!" Eren yelled back.

"It's just like five years ago! He appeared out of nowhere, then vanished, just like that!" Alex yelled.

The two made it back up to the destroyed wall. Most of the stone was either gone or messed up, and all of the cannons were in pieces on the ground.

"Sorry, I let it escape," Eren tried apologizing. Alex planted a hand on his shoulder, "It's not your fault. If it was, then it'd be mine to. But right now that's not our main concern, Titans will be coming through that hole any minute now."

"Yeah! Don't apolo-" The blonde started to say but was cut off.

"Hey, cut the small talk! The wall's been damaged! We have to fix it before the Titans get in!" Connie said staring down the wall at the hole.

Alex nodded in agreement, "Connie's right. Small talk is out of the question. Our main worry is about the hole now."

"What the hell are you doing?" A man asked landing on the wall. All of the comrades turned their gazes to the man. "Operations are underway now that the Colossal Titan has appeared. Return to HQ stat! If you engaged with the bastard, make sure you turn in your report!" He explained looking at Eren and Alex.

"Yes, sir! Good luck to the Advance Guards!" Connie said. The man ran off without saying anything.

The bell went off loudly, and panicking people ran though the district. "Gosh, this is Hell all over again," Alex muttered looking at the running people. From up there is would be easy to mistake them all for tiny ants, but they all knew they were people. Cannons from the other sides of the wall went off, some of them hit a few Titans, but most of them hit nothing.

They all had made it to the HQ, and inside there were scurrying soldiers. Some were scared out of their minds, others just tried their hardest to stay brave and not panic. Alex was knelled down filling her tanks up with gas. "H-How are you so calm, Alex?" Armin asked looking at the relaxed girl.

Alex shrugged, "We have spent three years preparing for this moment, I don't understand why you're so freaked out. You signed up for this when you joined the Cadets."

Armin looked down knowing it was true. "Are you okay Armin?" Eren suddenly asked arriving at his side. "I-I'm fine," he assured glancing at Alex. He struggled to connect his tank to the tube, "I'll be okay. But it's not good. We don't have the technology to instantly seal a hole eight meters high. Even that giant bolder near the outer gate.. We weren't able to dig it out or move it. If we can't seal the holes, this town will be destroyed!"

"Armin, stop whining about what's going to happen. Right now our main focus is to keep the Titans away so they higher ups can try to figure out a way to fix it," Alex said standing up. "Even if they don't, we don't have any right to do anything about it. So just follow your orders," she said coldly and walked away.

"What's wrong with her?" Armin asked turning to look at Eren. "We both almost killed the Colossal Titan, but it just disappeared. I think she might blame herself for it," Eren said looking down. Armin's eyes widened, but he nodded understanding.

Alex passed by Mikasa nodding at her without saying anything. Mikasa blinked turning around and grabbing Alex's shoulder. Alex paused in her steps waiting for Mikasa to explain.

"I have a feeling Eren and I wont be in the same group, or that you two will be either considering you're the best out of all of us, but I have one thing to ask of you," Mikasa said looking down.

"Please, try to protect Eren if it's possible.. I'm not going to lose my only family without a fight," Mikasa said looking back up. Alex stayed silent but gave a small nod. Shrugging Mikasa's hand off her shoulder, she walked away from the raven haired girl.

"I'm not going to let anyone else lose their only family."


	8. Oh no

"Break up into the squads you were assigned to during training! You will be under the Garrison Regiment and provide support in logistics, data transmission, and search-and-destroy missions! The Garrison Regiment will intercept and hold vanguard! The Cadet Corps will provide back-up in the middle! The Garrison Regiment's Elite Troops will protect the rear! According to reports, Advance Guards have been decimated! The Titans have broken through the outer gate! I'll be blunt! Don't be surprised to see the Armored Titan break through the inner wall at any moment!"

Gasps came from the crowd as they processed the news.

"Did you hear that?"

"It can't be true!"

"If Wall Rose is destroyed-"

"Silence! At this time, we are holding off the Titans on the front lines. Our defense strategy is simply this: Guard Wall Rose with your lives until every single citizen is safely evacuated! Finally, understand this! Desertion in the face of the enemy means immediate execution! Be prepared to sacrifice your lives! Dismissed!"

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone started running in different directions, getting together with their assigned group.

"Why did it have to be today?! I was supposed to head for the interior tomorrow!" Jean exclaimed. Suddenly a boot came in contact with his forehead. His hands immediately went to his sore spot, "Ow! What the hell was that for?!"

Alex looked down at him with bored and still eyes. "Listen up pretty boy, stop whining about how you were going to be sent to the interior tomorrow, because sorry to burst your bubble, but no one gives a flying fuck. So shut it before I shut it for you, and I know for a fact you really don't want that, now do you?"

He looked at her in fear before smiling, "You think I'm pretty?"

That line earned a ice cold glare from the short female. Gulping, Jean stood up and backed away putting his hands up in surrender. He turned around with his head down and walked further away. Alex looked over at the puking man and shook her head. Some people really don't have the guts when it comes to the real thing.

"You wanted to be in the Scout Regiment, so you're probably prepared to become Titan food! But I was all set to go to the interior tomorrow!" Jean yelled. Alex turned her head to see Jean grabbing a fist full of Eren's shirt.

"Calm down!" Eren tried reasoning.

"'Calm down' and let 'em eat me?!" Jean shouted back.

"No! Think back and remember! The blood, sweat, and tears of the past three years! Three years.. where we looked death straight in the face! Some didn't make it. Some gave up and left, and some were kicked out. But we came out alive, didn't we?! And we'll survive today too! You'll live through today, and go to the interior tomorrow, right?!" Eren said then walked away.

Jean stood there leaned up against the stone pole, speechless. What Eren had said grabbed a lot of people's attention, and most of them just stared at the ground re-thinking his words. Jean shouted something at someone walking away from Eren. Alex looked over at Eren to see Mikasa was already there.

"Was she there the whole time?" Alex thought looking at the two talk. Shrugged she turned and walked over to Jean.

"I thought I told you to stop whining," Alex said crossing her arms. Jean's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything some shouted:

"Cadet Bellerose and Ackerman!" Alex furrowed her eyebrows and walked over to where Mikasa and the man who had called their names were.

"You two are specially assigned to the rear guard, come with me." He explained.

"I'm not good enough. I'd only be a burden!" Mikasa objected.

"I'm not asking for your opinion. Evacuation is behind schedule. We need the best soldiers guarding the people," he said and turned around.

"I'd prefer to stay with my classmates," Alex said with her cold voice. The man stopped walking and turned around to face her.

"Like I said, I'm not asking for your opinion," he said, "is that clear?"

"It is clear, but it isn't going to stop me from arguing," Alex explained leaning against the stone pole. The man gritted his teeth and let out an annoyed sigh, "You're Cadet Bellerose, right?"

Alex smirked, "You'd be correct. Why? Am I famous?" She let out a chuckle. It was obvious she was getting on the man's nerves, and Mikasa and Eren just stared at her thinking, 'why the hell is she doing that she could be executed!'

"Look, I don't have time to argue with you - we don't. So just shut up an-"

"Great! Since we both don't really want to argue, I can just stay with my classmates! Problem solved!" Alex said putting her hands up in the air. The man glared at her with his hands balled into fists.

"Do whatever you want, but we are wasting valuable time here, c'mon Ackerman," the man said turning to walk away. Alex smirked and turned to the two step siblings.

"Please.. Don't die," Mikasa whispered to Eren, but it was loud enough for Alex to hear. Eren pulled away and started walking in the opposite direction. "I won't."

Mikasa turned to Alex, "Remember what I told you. I'm trusting you with his life, please.. just try your best to keep him alive." Alex looked into her dull gray eyes and nodded.

"I'll do my best."

"Hey, Armin."

Armin turned his head to look at his best friend. "Isn't this a great opportunity? If we prove ourselves here, before we apply for the Scout Regiment, we're bound to get recruited and earn fast promotions!" Eren said excitedly.

Armin smiled, "Yeah, that's for sure."

"Sorry to break up this little bonding moment, but many from our class are candidates for the Scout Regiment," Alex said with a bored face.

"You beat me to the punch earlier, but not this time," Thomas said.

"Is that a challenge, Thomas?" Eren asked amusement dripping from his voice.

"Let's see who can kill more Titans," he said with a smirk.

"Don't fake the numbers!"

"Squad 34, move out!" Someone yelled from a roof not far from the one they were standing on.

"You are going to support the vanguard!" The person continued.

Eren turned his head to his squad, "Okay, let's go!"

"Yeah!" They all yelled lifting their blades up. Alex smirked, "Just to let you all know, I'm going to beat all of your asses at this!"

Eren laughed, "We'll see about that!"

Then they all used their gear and advanced forward, towards the Titans.

"This many Titans already?" A black haired girl asked staring at the Titans.

"The front line is totally dismantled!" Thomas said.

"What happened here?! Those guys always try to steal the show!" A brunette exclaimed.

Alex looked over at the Titans. "This is really it.." Alex's eyes widened as she looked at the sight in front of her, "It's one of the peculiar types!"

"Stop!" Eren yelled as the peculiar type Titan jumped over the many houses. Alex landed gracefully on top of a roof, others.. well not so much. The abnormal Titan had it's limbs wrapped around the stone tower. Eren was hanging from the roof they were standing on, and they all looked at the Titan with wide eyes. The Titan's head slowly moved to the right, revealing it's face.

Thomas Wagner was hanging from it's mouth.

He looked around, "Huh?" Obviously he didn't understand what was going on at the moment. The cadets stared at him with shock. They didn't know what to say. Some of them gasped.

Thomas blinked and started panicking, he knew. But before he could say anything, the abnormal Titan lean it's head back and swallowed him whole. Alex's mouth hung open, she wasn't ready to see another person she knew to be eaten by a Titan. But she didn't show it. She didn't show her fear, instead she pushed it aside and her face changed from shock and sadness to angry.

"What the hell did you do?!"

"Eren!"

"Stop you can't go off on your own!"

Alex sighed and launched herself off the roof, going after him. The others caught on and followed her lead. She could hear his shouting things, but couldn't understand what they were.

"You fucking idiot.." She mumbled under her breath, remembering what Mikasa had told her.

Eren sped up carelessly, not noticing there was a Titan right under him. Alex's eyes widened as she sped up even more to catch up with him.

"I told her I would protect you!" Alex yelled pushing him out of the way. Eren looked back at her with wide eyes, but she didn't push him away fast enough, the Titan below them jumped up and bit half of his leg off.

And ate her.


	9. Questions

"Where am I?" Alex thought looking at her surroundings, "what happened?"

It was dark, but not dark enough to where she couldn't see. "I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" A man screamed, but it was muffled by the boiling liquid. Alex gasped once she realized what was going on.

She was inside a Titan's stomach.

The man who was screaming seconds ago had gone under the hot liquid, and Alex didn't doubt he was dead. All around her, soldiers lifeless bodies were scattered around. Something floated up from the red liquid and made a 'pop' noise.

"Huh?" Alex asked herself looking at what made the noise. She gasped and put a hand over her mouth, both from trying not to throw up and out of shock.

It was part of Eren's leg.

She knew it was his, she would recognize those socks anywhere. Dull blue with two dull green stripes at the top of them. He was the only one who didn't wear the normal white socks.

"I failed to protect him. I failed Mikasa. I failed myself," She thought as tears streamed down her face. This was the first time she had cried since that day.

"I-I'm going to die!" She said, but no one could hear her.

She was alone.

"No.. I'm not going to fail.. It's unacceptable," She said walking over to a corpse of a soldier. Alex didn't know the person, which made it a lot easier. She threw out her dull blades and replaced them with the scarp ones the dead soldier had.

"I will not die," She said walking over to the skin of the Titan. The liquid around her was burning through her clothes, and it was hot against her skin. She could already feel the blisters forming on her pale skin.

"It's not my time just yet," She continued stabbing two of her blades into the Titan's skin.

"I will not fail!"

She pressed hard against the Titan's skin with the blades, cutting through the skin.

"Just a little bit more."

She pressed harder and dragged them to the right, cutting a line in the thick material.

"Almost there.."

She dragged them down with all her force, creating a flap in the Titan's stomach. Moving quickly before the Titan could regenerate, she lifted herself up. She could already see the skin growing back. Grunting, she pulled her whole body up and jumped out of the Titan's stomach right before the flap she made healed completely. Quickly, she shot a hook into a nearby house and used her gas to get on top of the roof.

She breathed heavily in and out grasping what just happened. She couldn't believe it - she had gotten eaten by a Titan and cut herself out of it's stomach. To her, it was to good to be true. The Titan she was escaped out of turned towards her.

"You bastard!" Alex yelled charging towards it, she shot a hook in it's back and flew towards it with her gas. Before the Titan could move, she had cut a clean slice out of the back of it's neck. The Titan collapsed on the ground, it's body quickly turning into nothing. Alex moved fast and jumped off the dead Titan onto a roof.

Slowly, she lifted her head up to see a group of her classmates staring at her with wide eyes and open mouths. Her eyes widened even more when she saw Eren unconscious in Mikasa's embrace. Without saying anything, Alex used her gear to get over there. Once she got closer she saw that his leg was perfectly fine.

"B-But his leg! I saw it inside the Titan's stomach! I saw it get bit off! What the hell?!" Alex questioned looking at the unconscious boy. Jean walked up to her and placed a hand on her right shoulder, "Alex.. what happened?"

Alex turned around with wide eyes and looked at Jean. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"I saw you get eaten, a-and you should've been dead when you entered it's stomach! Titan's stomachs are full of boiling liquid, you would die in seconds! It's been over an hour since you got eaten!" Armin exclaimed standing up.

"I don't know okay? Why don't you explain to me what happened to Eren? Why is his leg perfectly fine?" Alex said gritting her teeth.

Armin gulped and looked at the ground. Alex followed his gaze, there were many dead Titans disappearing and steam rose up into the sky. "Eren.. he did all this. As a Titan," Armin said looked at Alex's reaction.

Alex scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"I mean.. Somehow he was able to be a Titan. Control it. The Titan collapsed, and Eren emerged from the weak spot. I still don't understand it myself, but that's what happened," Armin explained staring at Eren.

He turned his face back to Alex. "But that still doesn't explain how you're still alive!" He said.

"I cut myself out of it, that's all." Alex said bluntly. It was true, that's all that happened.

"But how? How come all the people who got devoured alive never did that?" Jean asked stepping in.

Alex put a hand on her forehead, "Look guys, I'd love to stand here and explain, but frankly I don't know myself and I have a really bad headache so could be please jus-" Her body fell to the ground, and she lost consciousness.

"I'm gonna kill 'em all."

Alex's eyes shot open and it took a second for her to register her surroundings. Blinking, she started to stand up with her hand on her forehead. Her head still hurt like Hell.

"Don't take another step!" Someone yelled at her.

She lifted her head, "Huh?"

She looked to her right and behind her, "Mikasa? Armin? Eren? What's going on?"

Mikasa and Armin just looked at her with wide eyes. Alex turned her head and looked at the person who yelled at her.

"Why are there swords pointed at us?" She asked to no one particularly.

"Eren? Can you move your body? Can you think straight? Tell them everything you know. I'm sure they'll understand!" Armin said grabbing Eren's shoulders. Alex turned her head around, "Seriously, what's going on? Last thing I remember was seeing you guys on top of HQ."

"Did you hear that?"

"He wants to kill.."

"Yeah, I heard him. He wants to eat us alive.."

"Mikasa.. What are they talking about? Can some please explain to me what's going on?" Alex exclaimed taking a step closer to the men pointing swords at them.

"I told you not to take a step closer!" The man shouted at her again. Alex growled withdrawing her blades, "Or do I have to force it out of you?" The man and the soldiers around him gasped and aimed their guns at her. "Alex, you're only making matters worse," Mikasa said.

"Well I wouldn't have to if they would tell me what the fuck is going on," Alex said calmly sliding her fingers over the blades.

"Cadets Jaeger, Bellerose, Ackerman, and Arlert! Your actions constitute treason! I'm conducting an inquiry to decide what to do with you! If you don't tell the truth, or if you move from that spot, we will fire the cannon without hesitation! Answer directly! What exactly are you two?!" Shadis yelled at the four teenagers.

"Eren! Are you human? Or a Titan?!" Shadis yelled looking at Eren. Alex didn't know what was going on, and by the looks of it, neither did Eren.

"And Alex! Are you even human? Or are you something we've never heard of?!" He shouted looking at Alex.

Alex and Eren looked at each other with confusion. Neither of them understood what he meant.

"We don't understand your questions!" Eren shouted.

"He's feigning ignorance?!" Shadis muttered. "You monster! I dare you to say that again! We'll blow you to smithereens! We won't give you a chance until you show your true forms!" Shadis yelled at them.

"True forms? What the hell.." Alex thought.

"True forms?!" Alex shouted back confused.

"There are many witnesses! They saw Eren appear from inside a Titan! And they saw you emerge out of a Titan's stomach unharmed! We allowed unknown creatures like you to pass through Wall Rose! You may be cadets of His Majesty's forces, but eliminating any risk swiftly is the appropriate action! I am not wrong! The Armored Titan that destroyed Wall Maria could appear at any time! Humankind is on the brink of extinction! Do you see?! We cannot spare the soldiers, or the time, to deal with you two! I will fire a shell into you without hesitation!" Shadis ranted pointing a finger at them.

"Their defiant attitude is clear to see. And it doesn't seem like we'll get useful information from them. As you say, it's a waste of soldiers, and time," a girl with silver hair said with a bored expression. Alex glared at her with her cold blue eyes.

"Captain! It would be easy to kill them now!" shouted a soldier.

"If we blow them to bits while he's still pretending to be human.." another soldier started but Mikasa's footsteps cut him off.

"My special talent.. is slicing off flesh. If need be, I'd be happy to display that talent. If anyone wants a taste of my special skill, step forward now," Mikasa dared, drawing out her swords. Alex nodded, "Same goes for me, I'm sure you guys don't want that, now do you?" Alex chuckled drawing out her own swords.

"What?" Shadis asked.

"Captain, Mikasa Ackerman served with our Elite Troops, protecting the rear. Alex Bellerose was supposed to, but she refused and decided to serve with her classmates. Both their contribution equals that of a hundred ordinary soldiers, each. Losing them both would be a loss for humankind. Even if Bellerose isn't human," a man said to Shadis.

"Hey.. guys. What the hell's going on here?" Eren asked.

"Guys! What good will fighting other humans do?! Where are we going to hide inside these walls?!" Armin asked standing up straight.

"I will take on anyone to keep Eren from being killed. I don't need another reason," Mikasa said seriously.

"And I wont die without a fight," Alex scowled.

"Talk with them! No one understands the situation! That's why the fear is spreading like an epidemic!" Armin explained.

"Honestly, I don't think Eren or myself remember anything that happened, what do you mean we came out of fucking Titan bodies?" Alex shouted.

Shadis looked surprised, but kept his angry face, "I'm going to ask you once more! What exactly are you two?!"

"I'm a human being!" Eren and Alex both shouted at the same time. Everything went silent, they all the stared at the two.

"I see," Shadis said calmly, "Don't hate me." He slowly started to lift up his right arm, "I have no choice. Since no one can prove you two aren't evil." He put his arm up all the way and Alex's eyes widened.

"No.. no.." She thought.

"Escape upwards!" Mikasa said dropping her swords.

"Don't!" Eren shouted, but Mikasa just grab his weak body. Alex stood there and stared at them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the white, crumbled, beautiful rose.

"Promise you'll always keep this?" Elisa's hoarse voice asked as she placed the rose in her sister's possession.

Alex clutched her hand around it, and looked up at Eren struggling out of Mikasa's grip. Alex looked down at her hand, looking at her family ring. She'd almost forgot she was even wearing it, she had warn this ring since as long as she could remember. It was the last birthday present from her father, he had said it had been in the Bellerose family for many generations. The ring was silver, and it had a black rose on it, and on the inside of the ring it had the family name 'Bellerose' carved in it.

Shadis brought his arm down, signaling the soldiers to fire.

And they did.

It all seemed to go really slow. Eren wrapped his arms around the three others and bit his thumb to where it bled. At the same time Alex turned the black rose on her ring to the right and it made a small click noise.

Half a Titan's body surrounded the three, and an almost see through black force field surrounded them all. Titan steam rose up from inside the wall, and the force field started fading away. Soldiers started screaming once the steam started clearing.

"The boy is a Titan! And the girl is a witch!"


	10. Save Our Lives

Everyone stared in shock as the steam stared to fully disappear. Alex looked at her ring with wide eyes; she honestly didn't know what just happened. Armin and Mikasa looked at their surroundings with wide eyes; all three of them were inside a rib cage. Not just any rib cage either, a Titan's.

"Alex.. What did you just do?" Armin asked hesitantly.

Alex blinked and looked away from her ring. "I don't know. I have a lot of questions myself, but that isn't the big deal at the moment. Do you not see what is around us?"

"The last thing I remember is the sound of the cannon. Then came a loud shock wave and heat. We're inside a huge skeleton.." Armin said frightened.

"Eren protected us. That's all we need to know right now," Mikasa said coldly.

Alex let out a sigh, "Why does this have to happen now. I really don't appreciate being called a witch. Because last time I could tell, I didn't have a pointy ass nose and I didn't go around flying on a broomstick."

"Alex, this isn't really the time to b-" Armin started but a sharp cold voice interrupted him.

"I honestly don't care," Alex said, her bored eyes staring into Armin's soul. He gulped and looked away.

"I can see why people would mistake you for Corporal Levi.." Armin muttered under his breath, but it was still loud enough for Alex to hear. She squinted her eyes at the blonde and growled.

"Why do people keep saying that? I don't even know anything about him," Alex thought and looked at the purple flowers that somehow made it through the disaster.

"Flowers only on the inside?" Armin asked looking closely at the purple flowers.

"Hey!" yelled a voice. All three heads looked up to see Eren running around the giant ribs.

"Are you guys alright?" Eren asked looking at the three.

"Eren, what is this?" Armin asked. Eren looked at it, "I don't know! But this is going to vaporize soon.. the way Titan corpses do. We need to get out of here! They're either watching us or they're preoccupied with something else. For the moment, the Garrison Regiment isn't taking action."

"Most likely watching us out of fright considering you turned into half a Titan, and Alex put up a.. well force field," Armin explained scratching the back of his neck. Eren's eyes widened, "Wait, what? Force field?"

Alex sighed, "Don't ask me. I don't even remember it honestly."

Eren nodded understandably, "In the end, they'll probably continue their attack. After what they've seen.. I seriously doubt that talking to them will do any good. But I did recall one thing.. The basement! The basement in my home! My father said I'd understand everything if I went there! I became this way because of what my old man did. If I can get to my basement.. I'll learn the truth about Titans!" He had been holding his key that hung around his neck.

"Dammit!" He shouted punching the now fragile rib of the Titan body. "If he knew, why did he hide it?! Isn't that information the last hope for humankind?! Thousands of Scout Regiment troops have lost their lives searching for it! And he kept it hidden away in our basement?! What the hell was he thinking?!" He continued.

"Yeah, so that'd explain you and Titans. But what about me? I'm obviously not a.." Alex said, trying to think of a word that Eren was, "Titan Shifter."

"Eren, Alex, we have other things to do right now," Mikasa said laying a hand on Eren's shoulder.

"Yeah," Eren nodded and all four of them walked out of the Titan corpse.

"The smoke's clearing!"

"Attack when you see them!"

"Let's get this over with quickly!"

Many whispers and shouts traveled through the soldiers. "Hold your positions!" Woerman shouted at them. The Titan's skull fell to the ground and sent large amounts of dust at the soldiers, blocking their sight.

"I'm getting out of here," Eren said. Mikasa and Armin gasped while Alex looked at them with her bored expression. "Me too," she said crossing her arms.

"Where will you go? How?!" Armin questioned. "Well I can always fly away on a broomstick, because as you heard, I'm a witch," Alex chuckled. Eren glanced at her before shaking his head. "Anywhere for now. After that I'll scale the wall and head for my old basement," he started and looked at his hand, "after I becoming a Titan again."

"You can do that?" Armin asked looking at his best friend.

"I don't know how I do it.. But I have a feeling I can. The way I can't explain how I move my arm. Earlier, I just reacted. All I could think about was stopping the cannon shell. That's why my body deteriorated without any functionality or durability. This time, I'll make myself stronger. A fifteen meter one like the one who kicked Titan ass!" Eren explained.

"You have a nosebleed," Alex said bluntly breaking Eren out of his own little world. He gasped and wiped his nose; sure enough there was blood on his hand. "You look pale, and your breathing is ragged. It's clearly messing with your body," Armin explained. Eren's eyes shifted to Alex, "Well how come she's perfectly fine?"

Alex shrugged, "Well, I didn't turn into a Titan that's part of the reason."

Eren shook his head, "Right now, I don't give a damn about my condition! I have two ideas in mind. If you guys don't try to protect us, you won't be killed. I've - we've already put your lives in danger. From here on, I think Alex and I should go together."

Armin gasped and shook his head. "No way.. I-"

"Eren," Mikasa said, "I'm coming with you."

"You can't!" Eren objected. Alex nodded in agreement. "I think it'd be best for you and Armin to stay behind. I'd rather risk Eren and I's lives than all of ours," Alex said watching a piece of the Titan's corpse vanish. Mikasa frowned, "If I can't keep up, don't worry about me. That way, I won't have to do as you say either."

"I'm telling you, forget it!" Eren said angrily. "I'm not your kid brother and I'm not a child!" He continued.

"Eren, I-"

"Wait, Mikasa. I said I had two ideas, remember?" He said and turned to look at Armin. "Armin, the rest is up to you," Eren said.

"Huh?" Armin asked looking up to meet the brunette's eyes. "I know that what I'm about to say is ridiculous.. The most effective use of this Titan power would be to strategically use it on behalf of the troops. Same thing with Alex's.. powers. This may sound crazy.. but if you tell me you can convince the Garrison Regiment that we don't oppose a threat.. We'll believe you and do as you say. This was my second idea. If you tell me you can't, I'll go with the first plan as my last resort. You have fifteen seconds to decide. Whether you can, or you can't. I'll - we'll respect your opinion either way," Eren said seriously.

Armin looked at Alex and she nodded in agreement. "Eren.. How can you leave such a huge decision up to me?" Armin asked. Eren smiled, "Because you know what to do when things get hairy. I want to rely on your judgment."

"When did I ever..?" Armin asked.

"There've been lots of times. Like five years ago. If you hadn't called Mr. Hannes at the time, both Mikasa and I would've been devoured by the Titan and dead by now," Eren explained. Half of the spine and rib cage of the Titan had broken off and fell loudly on the ground.

"Armin! We're running out of time!" Alex said grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. He was taken by surprise; this was the first time she had ever touched him. Her unique blue eyes stared into his light ones. Armin stood up straight and shrugged her hands off of him.

"I will convince them! You three will do your best to show no resistance," Armin explained. They nodded agreeing. Armin turned around and walked out of the steam so where the soldiers could see him clearly.

Alex looked at Eren, "Are you sure about this?" Eren nodded. "All we can do now is trust his words." Alex heard clanking and worried gasps.

"So you've finally shown yourself, monster! I'll do it! I'll give the signal!" Captain Woerman shouted. Armin had his hands up in defense.

"They are not enemies of humankind! They are willing to share everything they've learned with you!" Armin shouted.

"I will not let you beg for your lives! They've shown shown us what they are! It's too late for that now! If you claim they're not our enemies, then prove it! If you can't, then I'll just eliminate the treats!" Woreman shouted.

"There's not need for proof! The issue here is not how we regard them!" Armin shouted.

"What did you say?!" Woerman asked.

"I understand that many people saw Eren as a Titan. If they did, they saw him fight the Titans. They saw the other Titans gang up on him! In other words, the Titans regarded him as prey like they do humans! And many people saw Alex get devoured by a Titan trying to saw her comrades! Yes, they also saw her cut herself out of the Titan's stomach unharmed, but when she got out she was only concerned about her comrades! No matter how you rationalize it, the facts are irrefutable!" Armin shouted, but no once did his face show any weakness.

"He has a point."

"A Titan and witch on our side?"

"That's absurd!"

"No way.."

"Prepare for attack!" Woerman shouted at the whispering soldiers. "Don't fall for their cunning trap!" Armin gasped as Eren, Alex, and Mikasa looked shocked.

"What the hell? I would've thought that would work!" Alex growled.

"Their behavior has always been beyond our understanding! They take our form, and use our language. That means they can trick us as well! We can't let them have their ways with us any longer!" He shouted. Guns, swords, they all were pointed at them and ready to attack.

Armin looked back at the three, and they nodded. He turned back to face the soldiers and gave his best salute.

"I am a soldier who pledged his heart in order to resurrect humankind! If I perish while serving that pledge, I can ask for nothing more! By combining his "Titan power" and her abilities with our remaining troop strength, it might even be possible to retake this town! In the name of glory for humankind, in the few moments I have left to live I argue for they're value as fighting assets!" He yelled with all his strength.

Woerman lifted his arm up slowly and Mikasa and Alex started grabbing for their swords. But just as he was about to bring his arm down, someone grabbed it.

"Stop. For a big guy, you're as fragile as a fawn."

"General Pixis!" whispered a soldier.

"Can't you see the magnificent salute he's showing you? I just go here after being informed of the situation by an official messenger. You go and take charge of the reinforcements. I think I should listen to what those people have to say," Pixis said calmly. Armin dropped to the ground and panted with relief.

"I should've known I wouldn't find one.. I wouldn't mind being eaten if it were by a knock-out female Titan," Pixis said looking down at the male-based Titans that were scratching at the wall. Alex rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. They were now on top of the wall, just them five. There were no other soldiers. Armin and Eren had explained what the plan was, since neither Alex or Mikasa knew much about it.

"I see.. We'll know everything if we go to that basement," Pixis said looking off in the distance.

"Well, not everything. But everything to do with Titans," Alex said with a 'tch.'

"Will you believe me?" Eren asked ignoring Alex's comment.

"Since you have no concrete proof of this, I'll just keep that in mind for now," he answered with a chuckle and tapped on his skull. "However, I think I can tell when someone is telling the truth. So I will guarantee your lives," he added. The four soldiers let out a sigh of relief and their bodies seem less tense.

"Cadet Arlet, was it?" Pixis asked looking at Armin.

"Yes, sir!" Armin said.

"Earlier you that if we used what you called "Titan powers" and abilities, it might be possible to retake this town. Do you really think that's possible? Or was it a last-ditch effort to save your lives?" Pixis asked.

"It was both. What I was trying to say that moment, was that Eren, who became a Titan, could carry that large boulder to seal the gateway that was destroyed. And with Alex's skills protecting him, along with whatever other abilities she might have, it might be possible. It was just something I thought of on the fly. I hoped you would see how Eren's and Alex's powers could change our present situation," Armin explained. Pixis made a 'hm' sound and turned his back to them.

"Of course, I said it in the desperate hope of saving our lives!" Armin added.

"'In desperate hope' of saving yourselves. Now those are words I can believe," he said then took a drink of what Alex assumed was alcohol. He sighed and walked towards them.

"So, Cadet Jaeger, Cadet Bellerose.." Pixis started.

"Sir?" They asked in unison.

"Can you seal the hole? And can you protect him if he does?" He asked.

"Huh? Well.. I don't really know. I don't know anymore about myself than these people here do. That's why, I may by able to, or I may not. I don't want to give an irresponsible answer," Eren explained.

Pixis chuckled, "Yes, you're right. Forgive me. That was the wrong question to ask. Will you do it, or won't you? Which will it be?" Pixis asked staring at him.

"He'll do it, because I will be helping him."


	11. Retaking Trost (Part One)

"Assemble the General Staff. Let's work out a strategy!" Once the words left General Pixis mouth; Alex knew. Their last-ditch effort to stay alive was actually going to happen. More lives will die - all because of their far-pitched idea. None of them had actually thought it through; they just hoped that they would forget about the unbelievable idea and let them live.

But that's never the case with these men.

"What?! But.. it was just a wild idea! You can't just put it into action," Armin explained also surprised that they were going to go through with the plan.

"That's what I thought at first. But there's no use in questioning his decision. General Pixis has a vision we cannot see right now," Eren said looking down at Trost. Titans were feasting on the corpses of the brave soldiers that had given up their lives to help humanity.

"That we can't see?" Armin questioned staring at Eren.

"And before we carry out our plan, a more fundamental problem needs to be addressed," Eren started and went on to explain, but Alex beat him to it.

"The General understands the situation not only too well," Alex said running her fingers over one of her swords.

"What are you saying?" Armin asked, still not getting the point. Eren and Alex exchanged glances; it was like they could read each others minds. That thought wondered around Alex's mine for a few seconds before shaking it off. "We just think alike in some ways," she assured herself.

"The Titans are not our only enemy," Alex and Eren said at the same time. They both had seen it, how the General acted so calmly about the situation. Not only did it seem strange - any other person would have killed them by now due to fear - but it was like he knew the plan all along. Alex didn't know if Eren was thinking the same thing; but she sure was. It was just strange to her how well he handled the situation.

"We're in a race against time," the General said breaking them all out of their thoughts. Alex frowned for a split second before taking her time to turn around and face him. By now there were two other soldiers standing behind him.

"There's work to be done, young soldiers," Pixis said with a sly smirk painted on his pale face. Alex squinted her eyes at him wondering what goes on in that bald head of his.

"Before that land was controlled by Titans, it's said that humankind fought endless ethnic and ideological wars. Then some said: 'If a powerful enemy appeared, that wasn't human, the human race would come together and stop fighting.' What do you think about that?" General Pixis questioned as the three of them walked along the wall. He had sent Armin and Mikasa to headquarters then told Eren and Alex to follow him. They weren't really going anywhere, just listening to the General talk mainly; unless he asked a question like he just did.

"I wasn't aware of that story. I think that's over simplifying things. It's not as profound as it sounds," Eren said causing Pixis to chuckle.

"I've heard of it. My father told me that story," Alex said bluntly looking straight ahead.

"Isn't your father Eric Bellerose?" Pixis asked for confirmation.

"Yes, sir." Alex said with a small nod. Pixis let out a small laugh, "I remember him. Smart, skilled, fast thinking and not bad looking while doing it. Just like you Cadet Bellerose." What he said made Alex a little uncomfortable; she didn't like it when people talked about her father. And the 'not bad looking while doing it' just made her want to through out that someone as old as the General saying that to her. Eren glanced worriedly at Alex but she kept a blank face.

They kept walking in silence; none of them bothering to speak up. It was a mixture of awkward and pleasing silence. Alex couldn't tell which one it leaned on more.

"Eren?!" asked a surprised voice. Eren side glanced at the man then his eyes widened in surprise also. Alex, too, glanced over at the man who had said Eren's name. She had recognized him from somewhere, but didn't remember where.

"You're okay.." the man mumbled with a relieved smile on his face. Eren didn't say anything, but he made a hand gesture, telling him to go back to his job. The General pulled out his silver flask and took two large gulps out of it then turned around and held it out, "Have some?"

Alex shook her head, "I'd rather not be drunk when this all goes down."

"I will!" Eren said grabbing the silver flask. He chugged some of the liquid; but it didn't go down.

He spit it all over Alex.

The General stood at the edge of the wall and cleared his throat loudly. Alex and Eren stood on both sides of him; Alex was still mad at Eren for spiting the strong-smelling liquid all over her and Eren was merely afraid of her at the moment because of what he did.

Seeing that Pixis didn't get the soldier's attention, he cleared his throat once more then looked up.

"Attention!"

"That surely got their attention," Alex thought as she witnessed the shouting soldiers become silent and look up at the wall.

"I will now explain the plan to reclaim Trost District! Our objective for the plan's success is to seal the hole in the broken gate! As for how we will seal the hole, let me start by introducing these soldiers: Eren Jaeger and Alex Bellerose of the Cadet Corps!" Pixis explained. Eren and Alex stepped forward and saluted while looking straight ahead. Alex was temped to look down at the small people to see their reactions but she knew she had to stare forward.

"He is the successful product of our top-secret experiments to create a human Titan! He is able to create the essence of a Titan body and control it at will," Pixis explained while pointing at Eren, "and she is the successful product of our top-secret experiments to create something entirely different from Titans, but something unheard of. She is as strong - if not stronger and more skilled than over a hundred ordinary soldiers, which would be you. She also possesses the power to create a short-term force field."

Gasps from the soldiers filled their ears. Alex knew that he was just making it up so the soldiers wouldn't be afraid as they could've. Both her and Eren had no idea what happened until Armin explained it.

"After transforming into Titan form, he will lift that huge boulder near the front gate and carry it to plug the destroyed hole. While he does that, she will by his side through it all by putting a protective force field around them while she does her best to kill the Titans that get too close. Your job will be to protect them both from other Titans while he carries the boulder and she uses all her energy to put up a force field!" explained Pixis.

The crowd of soldiers remain silent while they processed the information. Then there was yelling of all sorts. Alex couldn't understand most of it but she could tell they weren't for the best. She felt uneasy about the whole situation in general; could they really do it? That thought kept running through her mind as she thought of all the soldiers that could possibly die in vain.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Pixis shouted, "On my authority!" She quickly snapped out of her thoughts with a simple blink and focused on Pixis' words.

"Anyone who leaves right now will be be pardoned! A person who succumbed to his fear of Titans can never face a Titan again! Those who have lived through the horror of the Titans should leave here now! As should those who want their parents, siblings, and loved ones to relieve that horror! Leave here now!" Pixis shouted at the already frightened soldiers.

They stayed silent as Alex watched them with hawk eyes. Some of them just stood there with clenched fists making it look like they were having some flashbacks of what had happened over an hour ago when the Titans first invaded the Trost District.

"Lets talk about four years ago! About Operation Reclaim Wall Maria! I don't think you need me to remind you of this, but.. Calling it an 'operation to reclaim' sounds well and good, but in essence, it was the government's way of cutting down the large numbers of unemployed people that couldn't support! What we never talk about.. is that we drove those people outside of the wall! That's why we were able to survive inside the narrow confines of these walls! I'm guilty! So is all of humankind! No rebellion surfaced only because a minority of people lived inside Wall Maria! But what about this time?! If Wall Rose is breached, reducing the population by twenty percent wont be enough! We cannot support even half of the remaining humans inside Wall Sina. If humankind perishes, it won't be because Titans devoured us! We will perish because we annihilated one another! We must not perish inside another inner wall! I beseech you! Die here!" Pixis shouted.

The soldiers remained quiet; most of them had wide eyes and open mouths. Alex assumed he had gotten to them - that was one hell of a speech.

"I'm sorry, Eren and Alex," Armin said snapping them out of their train of thoughts. Alex gave him a questioning look. "In the end, I saddled you two with all the responsibility," Armin said regretfully.

"I've said this before.. You have the ability to lead people in the right direction. I trust that ability," Eren said looking at the blue eyed boy. Alex nodded, "So do I. You have nothing to feel sorry for. We're the ones who agreed to it." Armin looked at her with a small smile, "Thanks."

"Eren, maybe I should got too.." Mikasa started.

"Don't say you want to come along. Weren't you assigned to the decoy squad?" Eren asked raising an eyebrow.

"But I can't let you go alone! It might happen again!" Mikasa exclaimed.

"Stop it! I'm not your kid brother and I'm not a child! I've told you that before! And besides, Alex will be going with me," Eren said looking back at the dark haired girl. Mikasa lowered her head.

"Ackerman!" someone said. She looked up, "Huh?"

"Join the Elite Troops protecting Jaeger!" the man said. Her face filled with hope and happiness once the words left the man's mouth. "We need your fighting skills! Move out! We're commencing operations!" the man continued. The four nodded and ran off in the directions they need to.

"He called you two top-secret human weapons. I don't care what you are as long as you get that hole plugged. Protecting you guys is our top priority. Don't let us down!" the man said as they ran along the wall.

"Yes, sir!" Alex and Eren said with a nod. Mikasa caught up to them, "Eren, how's your body feeling?"

"I'm fine!" Eren answered annoyed. "And yours Alex?" Mikasa asked looking at the girl. "Never better," Alex said with a blank face. "Are you sure Er-" Mikasa was cut off.

"This is no time for melodrama!" Rice said running in between the two step siblings.

"What? We weren't.." Eren started.

"To think we have to put the fate of humankind in the hands of a spoiled brat like you," another soldier had caught up to them and was running next to Alex while staring at Eren. Alex and Mikasa glared at him. "Well if this doesn't work out for some reason; I'll take the blame. After all I'm supposed to be his main bodyguard, am I not?" Alex sassed staring at the man with intimating eyes. He gulped and looked away causing her to smirk.

"That's enough, you guys! We're nearing the most direct route of the boulder! Best I can tell, there aren't any Titans. The others must be doing a good job as decoys," a soldier said from in front of them. Alex looked down at where the bolder sat he was right, there weren't any Titans in sight.

"A word of caution, Jaeger, Bellerose. A lot of soldiers are going to die in this operation.. because of you. They're our fellow soldiers, our seniors and juniors in the ranks. Of course, as soldiers, they're prepared to die. But they aren't voiceless pawns. They have names, they have families, and they have feelings. Alyosha, Dominic, Fine, Isabel, Ludwig, Martina, Guido, Hans.. They're all warm blooded human beings. Some of us have been together since our cadet days. Many of those very people will die because of you. They have a responsibility to see that they don't die in vain.. no matter what happens. So etch that into your spoiled little hearts and preform your duty like your life depended on it," Rico stated.

"I will!" Eren said out of breath.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure they don't die in vain. And I really don't have a spoiled heart," Alex said, you could practically see the venom dripping from her voice as she spoke so coldly towards the silver haired girl.

"This way! Quickly!" Someone in the group said as they rushed towards the boulder. They all jumped off of the way using their gas for support. Alex looked over and saw Rico shoot a green flare, which signaled they had begun the operation. They all used their gear to get closer to the boulder. Alex had to stay to closest to Eren.

Alex's eyes shifted over to Eren as he stabbed his sword in his chest. Alex quickly landed on the closest roof; giving his some space. A loud noise and bright lightning caught everyone's undivided attention.

Alex watched the large Titan with shinning green eyes let out a loud, angry roar. Her own eyes shifted from Eren's Titan form to the boulder with doubt.

"Is he really going to be able to lift that?" she asked herself.

The Titan turn it's head around slowly; then it's whole body was turned away from the boulder. Mikasa stood on the roof next to the one Alex was on, and Alex quickly realized it as she used her gear and grabbed Mikasa just as the Titan's fist came down on the spot she was just standing in seconds ago.

"Fuck!"


	12. Retaking Trost (Part Two)

The Titan's punch in the roof had sent Alex and Mikasa flying and they lost balance. They landed on the other side of the roof and both let out a small noise. Alex looked over at Mikasa, sighing to see she only got a small cut on her cheek.

"I guess it could've been a lot worse," Alex thought to herself.

They picked themselves up from the destroyed roof. Alex felt bad for the people who owned it. The Titan stood up straight as it started to regenerate it's hand. Mikasa stood up straight and looked at the Titan Eren was inside of. The Titan growled once again and pulled it's fist back ready to punch again. This time she was aware and jumped away in time. Using her gear, Mikasa shot a hook in the Titan and landed on its face.

"Mikasa! Get off of him! He's not in control of the Titan right now!" Alex yelled but it was obvious she couldn't hear her. "Fucking hell," Alex muttered and shot a hook into the Titan's shoulder. Since it was preoccupied by Mikasa, it didn't notice another being on it's body.

"Eren, don't you recognize me?! It's me, Mikasa! Your.. family! You have to seal that hole with that boulder!" Mikasa shouted at the Titan's face.

"Mikasa! It's no use! He isn't in control! I can feel it!" Alex shouted at the gray eyed girl. Mikasa frowned and continued to shout things at the Titan hoping it would recognize her and carry out with the objective. A loud gunshot gained Alex's attention. She turned her head to see that Rico had set off and red flare.

"Eren! You're a human being! You're-"

"Mikasa! Get out the way!" Alex shouted seriously seeing the Titan's hand form into a shaky fist. Mikasa looked down and saw it then quickly jumped of the Titan's face just as it brought it's fist down hard. Alex flinched wondering how much that would hurt if Eren could feel the pain. The Titan lost balance after it hit itself in the face - then sat helplessly against the large boulder. Both of the Titan's hands were gone, along with the part of it's face. Large amounts of steam rose up from the missing parts.

"He's nothing, but a stupid Titan like the rest of 'em!" one of the soldiers said frustrated.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted at the Titan; but it was no use.

"Squad Leader Ian! Two Titans approaching from the front! One ten-meter, one six-meter! Another, a twelve-meter, coming from the rear!" a soldier shouted. Alex's eyes flickered between the three walking Titans.

"Ian! We have to pull back. That kid's not going to plug the hole," said the same soldier that insulted him earlier. Alex didn't know his name; but she could think of a few that might fit.

"Yeah.. We don't have any choice but to leave him here," Rico said emotionless. Mikasa turned her head and glared at the girl with silver hair. Alex didn't like her at all; all she did was insult people and doubt them and their abilities.

"Hey?! What's there to think about?! Give us our orders! Ian! It's not your fault! It was a shaky plain from the start. We all knew that going in! It was worth a chance trying, and we gave it a chance! All right? Our squads are climbing up the wall," the brunette soldier said walking away. Mikasa's face showed nothing but angry as she tried to make a move after him, but Ian's arm blocked her from doing so.

"Wait!" He said looking at her. Mikasa was taken by surprise.

"Wait. Calm down, Ackerman. Squad Rico, take out the twelve-meter behind us. Squat Mitavi and my squad will take out the other two in front," Ian ordered.

"What?!" Rico questioned taking a step closer to Ian.

"I was put in command here! Shut up and follow my orders! We can't leave Jaeger behind unprotected! Change of plans! We're going to protect Jaeger from the Titans until we can bring him back!" He said looking at Alex and Mikasa.

"He represents a rare possibility for humankind. We mustn't abandoned him. Unlike us, there is no one who can replace him," Ian said looking at the sitting Titan.

"Several hundred soldiers died this time because of that failed human weapon. You're telling us to bring him back so we can do the same thing all over again?!" Rico asked pointing at the Titan.

"Do you have something in your ears, or did you just not understand?" Alex asked in a sickly cold voice while tilting her head to the side. All the soldiers around her turned to her in surprise; she hadn't spoken to them much, especially like that. Rico's face fumed with anger, "Listen here you little bitc-"

"Bitch? Is that what you were going to say? That's funny, I mean considering you're the one who called our hearts spoiled and continued to say how everyone's death during this mission was on our hands. So how about you listen up, and I'm going to say this loud and clear: Both Eren and I worked hard to get into the top ten of our class, stayed up night studying and working out to get in shape. And how am I spoiled? Before the Titans invaded Shiganshina I was doing my best to provide for my younger sister and I. And let me tell you, being ten years old and taking care of a six year old wasn't easy, at all. So you can shut your fucking annoying mouth about that. And the blood on our hands? They are on yours too little princess. So don't stand here and bitch about it, because we are going to bring him back, and he is going to plug up that hole, and I am going to do everything it takes to make sure that happens," Alex said, she was now standing face-to-face with Rico, and her blue eyes stared blankly into Rico's gray ones.

Rico looked away obviously not know what to say. The others were surprised by Alex's sudden outburst, Mikasa being the most surprised one. That was the first time Alex had ever talked about her past. Mikasa didn't even know she had a younger sister, or anything to do with her past at all.

"We all have to suck it up and do all we can to help that questionable human weapon," Ian said looking at the Titan. It still hadn't regenerated anything, which by now it should all have been healed.

"I can't go along with that," Rico said and turned around.

"Rico!" Ian shouted at her.

"But I'll follow your plan. What you're saying is correct. We'll put up a fierce fight and show the Titans what humans are made of. 'Cause I refuse to die a dog's death. My squad will handle the twelve-meter behind us," Rico said and walked away.

"Let's go! We've got the two in front," Mitavi said walking past Ian.

"Right," Ian said watching him fly with his gear leaving them three. Mikasa walked closer to Ian, "Thank you very much, Squad Leader Ian."

"No need to thank me, Ackerman. I didn't know what you'd do, so you scared the shit out of me earlier, plus I think Alex's little speech helped a lot. I want you two to carry out with the original plan and move on your own. That'll put your abilities to best use," Ian explained.

"Yes, sir." Mikasa said.

"After all, you'll be protecting your boyfriend," Ian added. Mikasa looked down blushing, "He's family."

"And you, try to wake Eren up, even if it means using what ever unnatural powers you have," Ian said looking at the blue eyed girl. Alex nodded and turned around to face Mikasa. "The destroyed parts of his body aren't regenerating, mean something is terribly wrong," Alex said observing the Titan. Mikasa nodded and looked at him.

Alex shot a hook into the Titan's arm and landed gracefully. She pulled out the hook and ran to the neck; that's where Armin said he came out of last time he turned into a Titan. She began pounding on it yelling things like, 'Eren!' 'Wake up idiot!' 'You have a fucking job to do now get up and do it!' and the list continued on and on.

Loud panting caused Alex to stop beating on the neck. She turned around and saw a out-of-breath Armin.

"Eren," Armin said once he got a good look at him, "what're you doing, Eren?!"

Mikasa was gone by now; as well as the other soldiers. That had left Alex alone with Titan Eren. "What happened to the plan?" Armin asked using his gear to stand next to Alex on the Titan's neck.

"Eren can't control the Titan. It didn't react when Mikasa spoke to it, all it did was try to squash her with it's fist. And it still hasn't reacted to me either," Alex said with a small sighed.

"What about the mission?" Armin asked.

"Failed. They're all fighting because they all refuse to leave Eren behind. But there are too many Titans, we're all going to be wiped out if Eren can't wake up," Alex said frustrated. Armin mumbled something then pulled out his sword. "What are you doing, Armin?" Alex asked stepping back from the Titan's nape. "I'm going to get him out of there," He explained then looked up to see Mikasa slay a Titan then land on the roof across them.

"Mikasa! Keep the Titan's away from us!" He shouted at her grabbing her attention.

"Huh? What're you doing here? What are you doing?" Mikasa shouted back.

"I'm getting him out!" He shouted back.

"Eren emerged from the Titan's weakest spot. It would have something to do with the true nature of Titans. It'll be okay, as long as I avoid the middle.. he won't die. But it'll hurt a little," Armin shouted and plunged the sword in the left part of the nape. He obviously felt it because the Titan let out a loud roar and lifted it's head up a little. Alex quickly shot her hooks to stay on it's back. The Titan tried shaking them off while it roared some more then breathed in and out heavily. Armin let out a small scream while Alex just closed her eyes and held on as tight as she could.

"Armin! Don't be a fool!" Mikasa shouted at him.

"Mikasa! Do what you can do! Go! There are lives you can save! Leave us and go!" Armin shouted at here. Mikasa nodded then left Alex's sight.

"Armin, what are you planning on doing?" Alex asked holding onto his left leg. The Titan's head was fully lifted up and Armin was hanging from his sword and Alex was hanging off of him. Armin blushed slightly at the feeling of her hand on his leg but quickly shook it off. "I'm going to try and talk to him," he explained. Alex nodded.

"Eren! Can you hear me? Hang in there! If you don't get out of here, we're all going to die! Don't succumb to the Titan's body! Quickly! You have to get out of this mass of flesh!" Armin shouted into the wound. Alex frowned and started climbing over Armin's body causing him to turn redder than a tomato. Alex gripped onto arm's hands that were wrapped around the sword.

"Eren! Come out! Quickly!" Alex shouted, but got no response.

"Eren! Eren!" Armin shouted and pounded his fist on the Titan's neck.

"What happened to avenging your mother's death?! Weren't you going to exterminate the Titans? Don't you despise the bastard that killed your mother? Eren! Eren, snap out of it! Eren! You're in there right? Eren! If you remain in there, the Titans will kill you! Everything will end right here!" Armin shouted and kept pounding on the Titan's neck; but it was still no use.

"Try talking to him about something personal, something only you two would know about," Alex suggested. She didn't know why she had thought of that, but there was no other ideas.

"Are you sure that'll work?" Armin asked staring into her bored eyes.

"Never hurts to try," Alex said and Armin nodded.

"Eren.. Weren't we going to explore the outside world one day? Far beyond these walls lie fire water, ice lands, and fields of sand. The world my father and mother tried to reach. I thought you had forgotten about these things. But actually, you stopped talking about it, because you didn't want me to join the Scout Regiment, right? Eren, answer me. One step outside the wall and it's s hellish world. We might die horrible deaths like my father and mother. Why did you want to go out there Eren?" Armin said calmly.

Alex stared at him wordless; the outside world? She had never thought of it much, only thinking there would be nothing but Titan's beyond the walls. But fire water? Ice lands? Fields of sand? This was all new to her. It made her curious. The Titan let out a loud roar and tilted it's head back.

They had brought him back.


	13. Retaking Trost (Part Three)

Alex and Armin had quickly jumped off the roaring Titan and landed safely on a nearby roof. "We did it!" Armin said happily. "We'll you did it.. I was just there," Alex said staring at the Titan. Armin turned to face her with a smile on his face. "You're the one you suggest something him and I would only know, if you hadn't we'd probably still be trying to bring him back - or dead."

Armin turned back to face Eren's Titan form, and Alex aloud a small smile on her lips. An actual smile - not a fake one or smirk.

She turned her attention back to Eren, "Do you think he remembers the objective?"

Armin nodded, "Hopefully."

That was enough for Alex to use her gear to get closer to the Titan. "Hey! Alex, what're you doing!" Armin shouted after her. "Better safe than sorry! Plus I have to be close to him to do my thing, remember!" She shouted back at him. Armin nodded to himself remember that should could put up a short-term force field.

Alex shot a hook into the Titan's arm and landed soundlessly on it. The Titan's head turned to look at her but didn't try killing her. It really was Eren.

"Hopefully he can hear me when I try to talk to him," she thought. Then looked up at Titan-Eren's face.

"Eren! You can hear me right?!" She shouted. Eren's head moved up and down slightly, but it was enough for Alex to know he could. "You have to lift that boulder up and seal the hole in the wall over there!" She said pointing to the hole that mindless Titans wondered through. Eren nodded again and shook his arm, like he was telling her to get off of him. Alex figured it out and jumped onto the nearest roof. E

Eren bent down and placed both of his Titan hands on the sides of the large boulder.

"You can do it, Eren!" Alex shouted encouragingly.

He lift it up slowly, using all of his strength to do so. Alex could see his Titan muscles tighten and the veins stick out. He slowly lifted it higher, and higher to the point it was over his head. Not necessarily over, but basically sitting on his head. The only thing keeping it from squashing his head was his arms that supported the boulder on either sides.

Seeing that he had lifted the boulder successfully, Alex used her gear to stand on his shoulder once again. The Titan took small, slow, and loud steps one at a time. The noise had caught many soldiers attention; along with some Titans. There was a Titan only yards away from them, which caused Alex to panic slightly.

Her eyes looked down at her family ring, remembering what she had done like a reflex when they shot a cannon shell at them.

Her life was in danger then.

And it's in danger now.

Quickly Alex turned the rose to where it made that small, and almost silent click noise. Immediately an almost transparent black force field surrounded her and Eren completely. It took all of her energy to do it; to the point where it actually hurt her body and made her have to sit down on Eren's shoulder. The Titan that was yards away, was now clawing at the force field - but it was strong like the walls and didn't break.

A relieved sigh escaped Alex's mouth when she saw it couldn't get through. Then she remembered; she couldn't keep the force field up forever.

"Someone! Someone kill that Titan! I won't be able to keep this thing up forever!" Alex yelled, hoping someone could hear her.

To her luck, someone did and they quickly slashed the Titan's neck and let it fall to the ground. Alex couldn't see who they were, but hoped that she could thank them once the hole was sealed. Steam rose up from Eren as he continued walking towards the hole. Alex tried her best to keep the force field up as she watched her comrades run on the ground trying to lure the Titans away from them.

One after another her comrades died before her eyes - and she could do nothing about it.

She felt Eren shift, and the boulder came down more on his head. Her eyes widened at the possibility of Eren losing his strength causing the boulder to squish not only him; but her too.

"Fight it Eren! We're almost there!"

Another death.

"Keep it from smashing your head! You got this!"

Another death.

"We're almost there! You can do it! Fight it Eren! Don't give up!"

Two more deaths.

"Just a two more steps Eren! Do it! Don't give up now!"

Eren took one more step.

"Now Eren!"

He finally took the last step and Alex quickly jumped off his shoulder to avoid being crushed by the boulder. Her body was beyond weak, and her force field blinked - it was about to give up. Eren let out a loud roar and threw the boulder down on the ground as hard as he could. It closed up the hole completely, but made several cracks in the wall.

But that didn't matter.

He did it; he actually did it.

Eren's Titan body was useless now, it just sat there slumped out of energy. Alex heard footsteps get closer and she turned to head to see Armin. He looked at her, "Are you alright?" Alex was breathing heavily, and her body had gone numb. She nodded, not wanting to be a burden, "Just hurry and get Eren out." Armin nodded and quickly made it to the Titan's neck. Alex looked up and saw yellow smoke, and that confirmed that the mission was a success.

"How's Eren!" Mikasa shouted at Armin as he pulled Eren out of the Titan's neck.

"He's got an unbelievably high fever!" Armin shouted back and continued to try to pull him out.

"We have to get him up the wall quickly or.." Armin trailed off. Mikasa quickly ran to him to help. "Sections of his body are fused with the Titan. I can't pull him out!" Armin explained.

"Then we'll just have to cut him out," Rico stated.

"W-Wait!" Mikasa stuttered.

"Just go and help Alex," Rico ordered and slashed through the fused parts; freeing Eren. Mikasa's eyes widened - she had completely forgotten about Alex. She quickly turned around and found her. She was barely standing and panting loudly.

"Alex, are you alright?" Mikasa asked running up to her and wrapping Alex's arm around her neck allowing it for Alex to lean on her.

"I-I'm fine, just give me a second to catch my breat-" Alex was cut off by loud stomps that she knew all too well.

Titan stomps.

All five soldiers looked up to see the grinning faces of two Titans. But right before that could get their hands on any of them, someone with amazing abilities slashed both of the Titan's napes in two seconds. Alex's eyes widened as she watched the two Titans fall on the ground. A man stood on top of one of the Titan corpses.

"Who is that?" Alex asked squinting her eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw the forest green cape - The Wings of Freedom.

The man turned his head and looked at the five soldiers, "Hey, you kids! What the hell happened here?"

"Mikasa, I'm fine I can just-"

Alex's body passed out from exhaustion.

They managed to kill the remaining Titans with cannon shells, and even were able to catch three Titans alive.

A four-meter with light brown hair that could be mistaken as dirty blonde depending on how you looked at it.

A seven-meter with dark brown hair.

And a six-meter with short blonde hair, big black eyes, and a twisted smile that only had half of the skin.


	14. Interrogation

Alex slowly opened her eyes, and blinked until her vision was clear. Two men were directly in her line of vision. One was short, with dark raven hair and dull cold blue eyes that could easily be mistaken for gray, and the other had combed blonde hair and - to Alex - cool looking eyebrows.

"Any questions?" The blonde one asked staring at her. Alex blinked again, wondering if it was just her imagination and she was going crazy. But the men do not disappear.

"Uh.." a voice said really close to her. Her head snapped over to her right and her eyes widened when she was Eren sitting up in the bed next to hers. His arms were chained up. Furrowing her eyebrows together, Alex looked down and saw she, too, was chained. She rolled her eyes and stared blankly at the men.

"Where.. are we?" Eren asked after he noticed Alex in the room with him.

"As you can see.. Let's just say you're in a dungeon. At the moment, you're in Military Police custody. They finally gave us permission to speak with you two just a minute ago," the blonde explained. He then held up a key that Alex recognized was Eren's. She only knew it was his because he wore all the time from his neck.

"That key-"

"Yes, it's yours. I'll return it to you later. The basement of Dr. Jaeger's home in Shiganshina District where you were born. That's where the secret to the mystery of the Titans is. Is that correct?" the blonde asked Eren.

"Yes. I believe so. That's what my father said," Eren said.

"You lost your memory, and your father is missing.. That's a very convenient story," the raven haired man said. Alex recognized him as that guy she was always being compared to.

"Levi, I believe we can to the conclusion that he has no reason to lie. There's still a lot we don't know but what I think we need to do now is to ask your intentions," the blonde said. Alex came to the assumption that they would be interrogating Eren first.

"My intentions?" Eren asked confused.

"To search your house where you were born will necessitate that we reclaim Wall Maria in Shiganshina District. I'd take drastic measures to seal the hole in that gate quickly. We'd need your Titan strength. In the end, our fate will be decided by Titans. Perhaps the Colossal Titan and Armored Titan function just like you do. Your intentions hold the key. The key to saving humankind from this despair," the blonde explained.

Eren looked down, "Me?"

"Give us your answer, scumbag. What do you want to do?" Levi asked impatiently.

"I want to join the Scout Regiment, and kill Titans," Eren said with a creepy smile on his face. Alex gave him a questioning look before turned away. Levi was about to say something but was interrupted by the blonde man. He held up a silver ring with a black rose on it and looked at Alex.

"This is your ring, am I correct?" he asked.

Alex stared at him with her bored eyes, "Yes."

"I heard that when you turn the rose, you can create a short-term force field, is that true?" he questioned. That caught Levi's attention and he turned his head to stare at the dark haired girl. Her eyes met his but her face didn't change. It remained emotionless and bored.

"Well if it wasn't I wouldn't be down here, now would I?" Alex asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice. The blonde chuckled, "That is true I guess." His laugh - it made a bell in Alex's mind ring. She knew that laugh, Erwin Smith.

"You're Eric's first daughter, huh?" Erwin said as his eyes scanned Alex's face.

"That would be me," Alex said bluntly.

"He was right, you do look exactly like your mother," he continued. Alex's fists clenched around the white cloth that trapped all her body heat in.

She didn't like it when people talked about her family.

"So I've been told," Alex stated and looked down at her chains.

"Don't you have a sister? Where is she staying?" Erwin asked which made Alex's head snap up and glare at him with intimidating eyes. She knew she couldn't scare him; but she was mad.

"She's dead," Alex said blankly. Five years ago, she would have broken down crying, but now she never felt sad.

It was always just anger.

"I see.. Do you have an idea how or why you are able to do those things?" Erwin asked raising and eyebrow.

"Not a single clue. It'd be nice to know myself," Alex confessed. She honestly didn't know anything about it, but she really wished she did.

"If I'm correct, your father used to wear this exact ring while he was in the Scouts, how'd you get it?" Erwin asked. Alex rolled her eyes, "He gave it to me the Christmas before he went missing, or a week before. They're the same thing."

Erwin nodded and twisted the ring around in his hand, "It a very pretty ring."

Alex scoffed, "Could you just get the fucking point? I don't appreciate being stared down from that guys over there, and being questioned isn't exactly my ideal of fun. Plus I'd rather be sleeping than talk to you, so if you must, hurry this little chat up."

Eren was surprised at her choice of word; it was irregular for Alex to cuss, but it was different for her to snap at someone like that. Usually she'd just ignore them or calmly walk past them and mutter something like 'stupid' or 'idiot.'

"Listen here bra-" Levi started but was, once again, interrupted by Erwin.

"You obviously heard what I explained to Eren, so I need to know your answer. There could possibly be a chance there's something in his basement that could explain you. After all, Dr. Jaeger used to be close friends with your father. Do what will it be?" Erwin asked.

Alex was surprised, but not at the same time that her father and Eren's were close friends. What a coincidence?

"Well, if my choices are either joining the Military Police to get dissected, because that's what they'll most likely do because they're fucking dumb ass, or join the Scout Regiment to possibly find out why I am like I am? I think the answer is motherfucking clear," Alex said through gritted teeth.

"Erwin, I'll be responsible for both of them. Tell that to the higher ups. It's not that I trust them. If they betray us or go out of control, I'll kill them on the spot. The higher ups can't complain. No one's better suited for this job. I'll accept you two.. into the Scout Regiment," Levi stated as he gripped onto the bars of the door.

Alex rolled her eyes.

"Wonderful, I'm now the responsibility of this douche-pants."


	15. Trial

"Excuse me.. I need to go to the john," Eren said looking at one of the guards. Alex rolled her eyes.

"You just went!" the guard said without looking at him.

"I'd like a drink of water," Eren tried again.

"Hey. Mind your place, monster." the other guard said. Eren stared at him in shock.

"I guess you're a monster, and I'm a witch. How wonderful," Alex said laying on her back looking up at the dark ceiling.

"Hey, guards. Can you get me a broomstick? I'd like to get out of here," Alex added then started laughing. They had been chained up in the dungeon for days now. Every now and then one of the guards would take them to the bathroom, or to get a drink. But they wouldn't forget to make some nasty remarks while doing so. Eren stared at Alex, who was laughing at her own joke.

"How can she be so calm about this? Isn't she freaked out at all?" Questions ran through Eren's mind but they came to a stop when he heard a door open and close. Alex heard it too, and sat up straight. There were quiet footsteps, then all of the sudden a girl had her face presses against the bars. Eren jumped back; obviously scared. Alex just looked at the girl with a raised eyebrow.

The girl then smiled, "You must be Eren and Alex! Are you okay? How're things going?"

"Terrible. It smells in here, and I haven't been able to clean myself in days. Also the food service sucks, and the employees are terribly rude," Alex says with a blunt, straight face. The girl with glasses stared at her for a few seconds before bursting out laughing.

"Sorry for the long wait. You can finally come out now. You have to be these one though," the girl said holding up two pairs of handcuffs.

The girl took the chains off them then handcuffed both of them. Alex rolled her eyes as they started walking down the hallway. "I'm Hanji Zoe, a squad leader with the Scout Regiment," Hanji explained, "That's Mike Zackarias, also a squad leader." Alex looked over to see Mike sniffing Eren's neck.

"Uh-"

"Yeah, he has a habit of smelling people he meets for the first time.. and then sneering," Hanji explained. Mike walked behind Alex and leaned over to smell her. "Smell me and I'll make sure you wont be able to reproduce," Alex threatened staring forward. Hanji laughed when Mike made a face when he tried imagining it.

"We're already here," Hanji said with disappointment, "I really wanted to hear more of Alex's jokes! Oh well. It's better if we don't explain anything." Alex looked at her in confusion before the other soldiers grabbed her and Eren then started pushing then through the door.

"Hey, wait!" Eren shouted.

"Maybe I shouldn't say this but all we can do is put our blind trust in you two. I wish you luck," Hanji said then shut the doors. Alex looked around. There were people on each side. One person was in the front, the Military Police on the right, the Scout Regiment on the left, and citizens in the back.

"A courthouse?" Eren whispered to Alex. Alex nodded. Two guys pressed guns to their backs and pushed them forward, "Get moving." Alex walking slowly until they told her to stop. "Kneel there," one of them said. Both Eren and Alex kneels and they put two poles between their arms so the cuffs wrapped around it.

It was actually very uncomfortable to Alex.

Alex looked around. People were staring at her and Eren. Whispering things, judging them, some were sending death glares at them. If looks could kill, they'd both be dead a long time ago.

"Shall we begin, then?" an older man asked. Alex looked up and assumed he was the judge for this trial for life or death. The man picked up a piece of paper and put on his glasses.

"You are Eren Jaeger and Alex Bellerose, is that correct?" the man asked. Both of them nodded. "You are soldiers sworn to protect the public. Is this correct?" the man asked looking at them. "Yes," Alex and Eren said.

"These are exceptional circumstances. This hearing will be a military tribunal where ordinary laws do not apply, I have been given the authority to make all judgments. This examination will determine if whether you two live or die. Any objections?" the man asked. "No," they both answered.

"You guys catch on quickly. That will be helpful. Let me get right to the point. It was impossible to conceal your existences, after all. Unless we officially announce either of your existences one way or the other, a threat other than Titans may develop. I will decide which regiment's custody to place you two in. The Military Police or the Scout Regiment," the man explained.

One of the soldiers from the Military Police started talking, but Alex didn't catch his name. "We believe that after a thorough examination of Bellerose and Jaeger's bodies, they should be done away immediately. Granted, it is a fact that his Titan abilities and her abilities allowed us to fend off this attack. But their existences is now causing ripples that could lead to internal strife. So, we should at least get as much data as possible out of them before we turn them into a martyr for those who died in battle," the man explained. Alex scowled at him then let out a small chuckle. Some people heard it and stared at her with questioning eyes.

"That won't be necessary! He is a vermin who used trickery to get past the wall, and she is another form of evil who tricked us and no doubt she's allays with the Titans! We should kill them now!" exclaimed the Preacher. Alex rolled her eyes at his stupidity.

"Next, I wish to hear the Scout Regiment's proposal," the judge said.

"Yes, sir. I, Erwin Smith, thirteenth commander of the Scout Regiment, will present our proposal. We of the Scout Regiment wish to induct Alex and Eren as full-fledged members and use their unique powers to reclaim Wall Maria. That is all," Erwin explained. Whispering filled the air after he had said that.

"Hm? Is that it?" the judge asked.

"Yes," Erwin answered, "with their powers we can reclaim Wall Maria. We feel it is clear what our priorities should be."

"I see.. Might I ask where you would start in order to accomplish this plan? Pixis, wasn't the wall in Trost District completely sealed?" the judge asked.

"Yes, that gate will never open or close again," Pixis said with a nod.

"We hope to start out from Karanes District to the east, then proceed to Shiganshina District. We will work our way along a new route that we will create from scratch," Erwin explained.

"Just a minute! This time, shouldn't we seal off every single gate? The Colossal Titan is only able to destroy the gate portion! If we reinforce those areas, we won't ever be attacked again-"

"Shut up, you dog of merchant association! If we use their powers, we can return to Wall Maria!"

"We've had enough of you people playing hero!"

"You sure talk a lot of a fat pig. What guarantee do we have that the Titans will wait for us while we seal and reinforce the gates? When you say 'we,' you're talking about the friends you're protecting so you can get fat. You pigs don't even notice the people who are struggling to eat because there isn't enough land," Levi said calmly.

"We're simply saying that if the gates are sealed, we'll all be spared," the man in the read jacket tried explain it.

"Stop it! You sacrilegious scoundrel! You would dare lay human hands on Wall Rose, a gift from God?! Look at that divine masterpiece beyond human understanding! Can you still not comprehend?!" the Preacher kept yelling at the chubby man but Alex got bored and blocked it out. She didn't really care if she died that day - she simply didn't have anything to live for anymore. All of her family gone, heck - she was the last of the Bellerose family. She didn't make any friends during training, she easily could've but knew it'd be best if she didn't. Because you never know who will be the next one to die in the hands of a Titan.

"Order!" the judge said snapping Alex out of her hopeless thoughts.

"You can take your personal arguments elsewhere. Bellerose, Jaeger, I want to know. Can you, as soldiers, continue to help humankind by using your powers?" the judge asked them.

"Yes," Alex stated bluntly just as Eren said, "Yes, I can!"

"Oh? But this is what's written in the report of the attack on Trost District. 'After turning into a Titan, he swung his fist at Mikasa Ackerman and Alex Bellerose.'" the judge stated. Eren gasped and looked at Mikasa with wide eyes. He then turned his head and looked at Alex. Alex stared forward and gave him a shrug.

"Who is Mikasa Ackerman?" asked the judge.

"That would be me," Mikasa spoke up.

"So you are. Is it true that Jaeger in Titan form attacked you and Bellerose?" the judge asked. Mikasa looked over at Eren and Alex.

"Yes, it's true. He aimed at me but Alex pushed me out of the way," Mikasa said. The citizens in the room gasped.

"A Titan is a Titan, after all.." the man from earlier said.

"However, two times prior to that, Eren in Titan form saved my life. The first time, just as I was nearly captured by a Titan, Eren stood in it's way to protect me. The second time, he protected Armin, Alex, and me from an artillery shell. And Alex has saved me twice too. I would like you to take these facts into consideration," Mikasa said.

"Just a minute. Your testimony includes a considerable amount of personal emotions. Mikasa Ackerman lost both of her parents at a tender age, and the Jaeger family took her in. In addition, our investigation into the events at that time uncovered shocking facts. Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman, both nine at the time stabbed and killed three men who tried to rob and kidnap her. While it may have been justifiable as self defense, this cannot help but cast doubt on his fundamental humanity. And also while looking into Alex Bellerose's pasts, we uncovered that from the ages seven to ten, she would steal and pickpocket. She even stabbed a man and left him to bleed when she was eight, the man died from blood loss. She exclaimed it was also self defense because the man was touching her in certain places, that also does not help but cast doubt on her fundamental humanity. Should we entrust them with the fate of humankind and all our resources?" the man from the Military Police asked.

Alex glared at the man for revealing her past. Especially the part about the stabbing. It was in self defense, the man was a pervert child molester. She had every right to stab him and leave him to die.

"Yeah.."

"He's right!"

Many other false assumptions spread through the blinded crowd. They didn't know anything; they didn't understand any of it. Stealing was the only way Alex survived with her younger sister, but for them they can stuff their faces with fattening food whenever they want.

"Who knows if she's really human?!" a man said pointing at Mikasa.

"Right!"

"We sure should have her dissected for sure!"

"Now hold on! I may be a monster but Mikasa has nothing to do with that!" Eren shouted at them. Alex lowered her head to the ground and start laughing.

Just laughing.

Laughing at their stupidity.

Laughing at their selfishness.

Just laughing at them.

The room got quiet and they all the just stared at the black haired girl. Alex lifted her head and chuckled one more time.

"You guys seriously are selfish pigs. Accusing an innocent girl just because she knows Eren? You make me laugh at your stupidity and selfishness. I don't care if I die today, or any other day for that matter. But you will absolutely not go around accusing innocent people," Alex said with a cold voice while giving one of her best cold glares. The men gulped and looked away; obviously not liking the eye contact.

"You people.. You're carrying on using whatever excuse is convenient for you," Eren spoke up.

"W-what?" one of the Military Police men asked.

"In the first place, you people have never seen a Titan, so what are you afraid of?" Eren started. Alex gave him a look that said shut-the-fuck-up-you-fucking-idiot, but he simply shrugged it off.

"What'd going to happen if people who have the power don't fight? If you're afraid to fight to go on living then at least help us! You.. cowards!" Eren said.

"What?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Why can't you just shut up and take a chance on us?!" Eren shouted angrily, steam rose up from his hands. Alex looked at him worriedly, wondering if he was actually going to do anything. But he calmed down slightly, and the steam stopped. Basically everyone in the room gasped at him. Their eyes were wide, and their mouths hung wide open.

"Aim, him!" ordered the man who made the proposal for the Military Police.

"Yes, sir!" the soldier next to him said and aimed at him with his gun.

"I told you to shut the fuck up.." Alex muttered to him like she was saying 'I told you so.'

A foot came in contact with Eren's face and one of his teeth was sent flying on the ground. Alex looked at it and crinkled her nose. "How nice," she thought. She looked over at Eren only to see Levi kick him again; but in the stomach this time. Levi pulled Eren up straight and kneed him in the face. Blood spatted onto Alex's face making her scowl at the raven haired man. He glanced at her but continued kicking him. Alex glanced over at Mikasa to see Armin holding her arm to keep her from trying to kill Levi.

"This is just my personal philosophy.. I think pain is the most effective punishment. What you need to know can't be taught by words, only action. You're bent over on your knees which makes you easy to kick," Levi explained then kicked Eren three more times. Alex didn't say anything; nor did she watch. She warned him to shut up, but he ignored her.

"Wait, Levi.." the speaker for the Military Police said holding up a hand.

Levi turned his head, "What?"

"It's dangerous. What if he gets mad and turned into a Titan?" the man asked. Levi looked at him for a second before kicking Eren again.

"What're you talking about? Weren't you going to dissect this guy?" Levi asked holding Eren up by his brunette hair. The Military Police soldier opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"I heard this guy in Titan form killed twenty Titans before stopping from exhaustion. If he's an enemy, his intelligence could be troublesome. But then, he's not my enemy. But what about you people? You guys who persecuted him better think about that. Can you really kill this guy? And as for the girl," he stopped and walked over to Alex. He bent down to her level and lifted her head up with he hand and looked her in the eyes, "she's not my enemy either."

Alex kept her cool even though he was touching her face - she didn't like people touching her. Anywhere. At all. Her eyes narrowed at him and he raised his eyebrows. He brought his other hand up and slapped her across the face.

Hard.

Alex's face turned in his hand and she gritted her teeth from shouting at him about how much of a dick he was. He moved her head and made her face him, sure enough, his hand print was painted in pink on her left cheek. He smirked then dropped her head and stood up. "She's the top of her class with outstanding scores in everything. And just with that, do you think you can kill her? Add her powers into the matter and think about it," Levi said.

"Commander-in-chief, I have a proposal," Erwin said raising his hand.

"What is it?" asked the judge.

"There are many unknown elements of Eren's Titan powers, and Alex's unusual powers, and there will always be hidden dangers. Therefor, I'd like to put Captain Levi in charge of Eren and Alex and explore the exterior," Erwin explained.

"By taking them with you?" questioned the judge.

"Yes. We'll find out if Eren can control his Titan powers and if Alex can control how long her's last and if there are any more, and whether or not they are of benefit to humankind. I'd like you to make your decision after our results are in," Erwin said.

"Control Eren Jaeger and Alex Bellerose, eh? Can you do it, Levi?" the judge asked.

"If you mean, can I kill them? Certainly. The thing is, though, that there are no halfway measures," Levi said.

"I've made my decision."

"Man, that was vicious, it must hurt," Hanji said cleaning the blood off Eren's face. Alex wasn't hurt as badly had Eren; not even close really. He'd been kicked multiple times and even lost a tooth, while she only go slapped across the face once.

"A little," Eren sighed.

"So, how do it hurt?" Hanji asked. Alex was sitting silently beside Eren while listening to their conversation.

"Sorry about that. But because of that, he let us have you two," Erwin explained walking over to the window.

"Yeah.." Eren muttered.

"It allowed us to play the card we had up our sleeve with great effect. It was well worth your pain," Erwin said then walked over to them. He bend down to Eren's and Alex's height, "You two have my respect. Eren, Alex, I look forward to working with you two."

"Y-yes! Thank you for having me!" Eren said shook his hand. Erwin looked at Alex with an open hand. She glanced at his but kept her arms crossed. "I don't shake hands," she said bluntly. Levi walked over to the couch and sat down with a thump. He arm was outstretched - half of it was behind Alex's head - and he crossed one leg over the other.

Eren jumped when he sat down but Alex just glanced over and rolled her blue eyes.

"So, Eren.." Levi started.

"Y-yes?" Eren asked uneasy.

"Do you resent me?" Levi asked looking over at Eren.

"N-no. I realize it was all an act you had to put on," Eren explained. Levi looked away, "Good, then." Levi then turned his face and looked at Alex's usual bored face. "Do you resent me, Alex?" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If you're asking me if I hate you because you slapped me, then no," Alex said then stood up.

"Good," Levi said watching her.

"I hate you because you annoy me," Alex said then walked over to the other couch and lied down on it. She crossed her arms behind her head and put on leg over the other and closed her eyes. Hanji stifled a laugh, but evenually couldn't hold it and earned a famous glare from Levi.

"You could've held back a little bit. He lost a tooth. See?" Hanji asked showing him the tooth.

"Don't pick it up. It's disgusting," Levi said looking at it.

"This is a valuable sample," Hanji argued.

"Eren, wasn't that preferable to getting dissected by these guys?" Levi asked.

"I'm not like them. I wouldn't kill Eren. Or Alex. Eren, let me see inside your mouth," Hanji said leaning in Eren's face. Eren blinked then opened his mouth.

"Huh?" she asked then her face washed over with shock, "It's already.. growing back."

"Can I just be dissected then killed?" Alex asked.

"No."

"Damn."


	16. Awkward Moments & Edgar the Titan

"The old Scout Regiment headquarters. Just as you'd expect from an renovated old castle, it looks fancy an all. But being so far away from the wall and river, is wound up being totally useless for the Scouts. That was back in the earlier days, when everyone had high hopes. Still, to think that this over-sized decoration would end up as the perfect place for holding you two now," said a man with light brown hair. Alex rolled her eyes at him.

"Don't get cocky, rookie," the man said noticing Alex's eye roll.

"Fuck off," Alex said bluntly and kept staring forward. The horse she was riding looked exactly like the one Elisa wanted. Dark brown with long caramel hair. It was not doubt gorgeous - it just sadden Alex a little bit whenever she looked down at it.

The annoying man leaned in Alex's face, "Look, I dunno if you're a witch or not, but don't assu-"

"Get out of my face. Your breath smells like shit and you're annoying as hell," Alex said looking forward. The man opened his mouth and was about to say something but then his teeth came down on his tongue. He bit it hard enough to make it bleed. Alex gave him a disgusted look while Eren looked surprised.

"You're also an idiot."

"Talking on a horse is a guaranteed way to bite your tongue," said the honey colored haired girl.

"First impressions are important. I had that rookie scared stiff," the annoying man from earlier said. Alex rolled her eyes and watched him with bored eyes. Eren burst out laughing, "Yeah, right!" The man glared at him causing Eren to look away and go back to his horse. Alex had learned the girl's name was Petra, but she didn't bother listening to the man's name. Nor did she care. He was annoying; end of story.

"This place is filthy," Levi complained walking in the center of attention. He held up some white face cloths, "Cleaning time."

Alex mentally groaned. She hated cleaning. It just wasn't her thing. She didn't mind if things got dirty, unless it was really dirty then it might bug her in the slightest. Levi threw the cloths at all the soldiers except Alex. Alex raised an eyebrow.

"You're on dishes duty."

Alex stared at the dusty box full of dusty dishes. They were from when the Scout Regiment actually used this headquarters. Alex sighed and sat down in the chair next to the table and stared at the dusty box. She had gotten her ring back after the trial ended, which she was glad for. It felt weird not wearing it on her finger. She stared at the dishes inside the box and tried concentrating.

"Why can't you just clean yourself," Alex mumbled setting her head down on the table. She was tried - sleep has not been on her side for the past couple of days. She didn't know why, but every night her mind decided to question anything and everything and pushed away sleep.

"Why aren't these done yet?"

Alex knew who the cold voice belonged to. None other than the famous Captain Levi. "I don't know. Ask them," Alex mumbled keeping her eyes closed. Levi narrowed his eyes at her and walked over to her. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back to face him. Alex smirked, "I didn't know you were kinky like that." Levi gave her a disgusted look then let go of her head causing Alex to laugh really hard. The face he made amused her like no other, it was pointless to let a good laugh go to waste. Alex calmed down and wiped a fake tear from her eye and looked up at the Captain.

"I'd rather die than clean," she said seriously then stood up only for Levi to place a hand on her shoulder and sit her back down again. She let out an annoyed groan. "You like cleaning, right? Why don't you do it?" Alex asked tiredly.

"Because I ordered you to do them," Levi stated staring at the black haired girl. She looked up at him with tired eyes, "Oh?"

"And I'm going to stand here and watch you do them until they're all clean and spotless," Levi said with a smirk. Alex narrowed her eyes at him and stood up. She grabbed the box and dumped the dirtied dishes into the sink. It was already filled with soapy warm water, so she didn't have to go fetch any water. She lazily grabbed a rag and began scrubbing at a bowl. Alex then held it up and faced Levi, "There. One down. Happy?"

"No. It's not clean at all. Do it again," Levi answered. Alex glared at him and turned around to do it again. "I really do hate you," she stated scrubbing at the bowl.

"You're still doing it wrong," Levi whispered in her ear making the hair on her next stick up. The warmth of his breath lingered on her shoulder as she continued scrubbing the bowl. "I'm sorry I don't live up to your expectations. That just proves I shouldn't be doing them then," Alex said trying to get out of doing them. She dropped the rag and bowl in the sink and lift her hands up from the warm water. Levi stood strong behind her and grabbed her hands then shoved them under the water again.

"Don't touch me."

Levi made her hands grab the bowl and rag.

"I don't like being touched."

He began guiding her hand on how to clean in correctly.

"This is assault. I could get you thrown in jail."

He lifted up the bowl and showed her it,"Now this is clean."

Alex turned her head and glared at the Captain.

"Mind if I borrow Alex?" Hanji asked sticking head into the kitchen. Levi had stuck to his word and watched her clean the dishes - correctly. Levi lifted his head and looked at the girl with glasses. "Sure." Hanji smiled and grabbed Alex's hand then dragged her outside of the castle. "Where are we going?" Alex asked raising an eyebrow.

"You've heard about the three Titans we captured, right?" Hanji asked looked back at Alex.

Alex nodded, "Yeah, why?"

A smile crept on Hanji's face. "I want your help with them." Hanji continued dragging Alex until they arrived at the camp they had set up for the three captured Titans. "Don't freak out or anything, they're chained up tight," Hanji explained. Alex nodded and followed her through the gate. Two guards stared at her as she walked past them and Alex glared at them.

"Okay, here they are! Sawney, Bean, and Edgar!"

Alex's eyes widened as she looked up at the blonde haired, black eyed, twisted smiled Titan.

It was the Titan who ate her sister.


	17. Arguing

Hanji looked at Alex as she stared up at the Titan.. in what? Shock? Fear? Anger? There were too many emotions running through Alex's mind that she didn't realize Hanji shaking her shoulder. Alex blinked and looked away from the blonde haired Titan, "What?"

"Are you alright? You look like you're going to kill someone.." Hanji said, muttering the last part but Alex heard it loud and clear. "Yeah, that someone is that Titan," Alex thought glaring at 'Edgar.' Hanji gave Alex a questioning look before shrugging it off and grabbing Alex's arm. "Stop touching me," Alex complained but Hanji acted like she didn't hear it. Alex rolled her eyes at the girl.

"So why am I here again?" Alex asked with a raised eyebrow. Hanji turned around to face her with a wide smile spread across her face.

"We're going to cut open one of the Titan's stomachs," Hanji explained looking at the three smiling Titans.

"Why? All you're going to see it boiling liquid and dead bodies. Trust me, it's not a pleasant sight," Alex sighed. Hanji had questioned Alex about what happened back at the attack on Trost. For some unknown reason, Hanji thought it was fascinating.

"Yeah, that is most likely true, but we haven't done this before with any of our other captured Titans," Hanji started crossing her arms, "and it might just increase our facts about their insides. After all, you're the only living person who has seen them."

"If you cut a hole in their stomach it's going to regenerate it pretty fast," Alex warned remember the Titan she climbed out of. Hanji sighed, "Yeah. We know, that's why we're going to have two people continue to cut the Titan's stomach, keeping it from shutting the hole." Alex nodded, it did make sense in some way.

"So, which Titan are you going to do that to?" Alex asked staring at the familiar Titan. Hanji pursed her lips to the side and tapped on her chin, thinking about it.

"That one," she said pointing at the blonde Titan.

After Hanji had told Alex that they were going to be cutting open the Titan's stomach who ate her sister, Alex immediately made an excuse to get away from that area. Now, she was laying on her back on her bed twirling the rose Elisa had given her the day she died. It's whiteness was long gone, the petals had no moisture, and they had turned slightly yellow. Part of the stem had broken off, and one of the leaves detached itself from the stem. Alex lied there thinking; just thinking. Would they pull out Elisa's body? Or will it already be puked up somewhere? Has it deteriorated inside the Titan's stomach after those long five years? Alex's thoughts and questions were interrupted by a loud knock at her door.

"State your name and business," Alex shouted not wanting to get up.

"I don't have to," a voice said opening the door. Alex didn't have to look to know it was her squad leader, Levi.

"What do you want?" Alex asked bluntly. She didn't care what he wanted; she just wanted to be alone at the time.

"I thought that 'your stomach hurt and you feel like you might throw up'?" Levi said with a questioning tone. He leaned up against the wall and shut the door. Alex remembered her excuse, "Oh. Yeah. Right. Ow." Alex didn't even try to support her overused excuse. Levi's eyes narrowed at her.

"It seems like you're just fine," he observed. Alex shrugged, "It was a miracle, I guess." Alex sighed then looked at Levi for the first time he's stepped foot into her room. "What do you really want? To come here and confront me about my little lie? I'm sure you have better things to do," Alex said rolling her eyes. The urge to roll her eyes at anyone and everyone had taken a new high, really high.

"Why did you make up a lame excuse to get away from the Titans?" Levi asked staring at the black haired girl for an answer.

"That's none of your business," Alex said resting the rose on her chest.

"It is if I'm your squad leader," Levi argued.

"I didn't know that my squad leader needed to know every little detail about me," Alex shot back. Levi glared at her. None of his soldiers ever argued with him; they all new what the punishment would be. And most of them were too scared to even try in the first place.

"Just answer the question, Bellerose."

"You can't make me."

"Just tell me."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to."

Levi was getting frustrated with the blue eyed girl. All she did was argue with him - and it annoyed him. "Tell me or I'll put you on horse duty for two weeks," Levi threatened. Alex's nose scrunched up. "Horse duty? I'd rather not," she thought.

"I don't want to waste your precious time with my sad story," Alex said and stood up. She shoved the old rose into her back pocket and looked at him.

"If I'm correct, Bellerose means 'beautiful rose' in French, right?" Levi suddenly asked. Alex gave him a questioning look, "Yeah. Why?"

"Parlez-vous français?" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oui, c'est ma deuxième langue, pourquoi ne demandez-vous?" Alex asked.

"I see.. Does you running away from Hanji have to do with that rose?" Levi asked. Alex's eyes widened slightly but then narrowed at him again. "Why do you care?" Alex asked crossing her arms.

"I don't. Hanji wants to know why you ran off," Levi explained.

"So? Why didn't she come here herself?" Alex questioned walking over to the window. She was lucky and had gotten an actual bedroom, unlike Eren who had to sleep in the basement. They thought that because of her known power, she wasn't a threat. But they made it so that she didn't have a roommate - which Alex didn't mind one bit because she likes being alone.

"Because she's busy getting ready for tonight's 'event' or whatever she called it and sent me to ask," Levi explained with a sigh. Alex looked at him, "Event?"

"Yes, event dumb ass." Levi said harshly.

"For what?" Alex questioned. She didn't know anything about an event.

"Something to do with one of the Titans, I don't know the details. Why?" Levi asked giving her a questioning look. Alex's eyes widened. Were they really going to have a event over this?

"I'm not going." Alex stated firmly.

"Yes, you are. Everyone has to be there. And I don't care if I have to drag your short ass out there, you're going," Levi said.

"No. Seriously. I'm not going," Alex assured. She didn't want to go - she couldn't. All those years of building up confidence and strength could easily come crashing down on her if they were to pull out Elisa's body. Those few years of building up a new Alex - all gone, leaving the old, frail, weak Alex that she had once been. She didn't want that.

"Yes, you are," Levi snapped.

"Not, I'm not!" Alex shouted in his face then headed for the door. Levi gripped her arm and pinned her to the wall. "I don't know what your problem is, but you are going. I will drag you down there myself and hold you down so you can't run away," he said in a low voice. Alex glared at him and pushed him off of her, "No."

"Quel est votre problème à aller?" Levi asked in French. Alex blinked.

"You wouldn't understand," she stated turning away from him, "even if you tried."

Levi glanced outside the window, Hanji had made it clear they would start it around noon. By the looks of it, it was already noontime. Levi walked over to Alex and grabbed both of her arms.

"What the hell?!" Alex shouted at him trying to free her arms, but it was no use. Levi was Humanity's Strongest Soldier. "The event is about to start. And you're going," Levi said wrapping a rope around Alex's hands behind her back. Alex turned her head around and glared at him.

"This is kidnapping," Alex stated as Levi pushed her forward outside the room.

"As long as I remember, I have custody over you and Eren. I can do whatever I want," Levi replied with a smirk. Alex dug her boots into the dirt once they got outside. "Walk, brat." Levi spat at her. "No," Alex said digging her boots in the ground even further. Levi didn't understand why she was making a big fuss over it, or why she continued to argue with him. It was getting quite annoying to him.

An idea popped up in Alex's scattered mind and she smirked. Her tied hands were together, but as long as they were able to touch each other it'd work. Alex twisted the rose on her ring, and as expected an almost transparent black force field surrounded her and pushed Levi away. Levi gritted his teeth and tried reaching for her, but the thing that surrounded her was as hard as a wall.

"Bellerose," Levi growled. Alex blinked and looked at him innocently, "Yes?"

"Take it down," he ordered. "Take what down? I don't know what you're talking about," Alex said with a smirk. "I will wait here until it comes down itself," Levi said crossing his arms. Alex bit her lip then looked towards the forest. Her eyes shifted between the forest nearby and Levi.

"Don't you even think about it," Levi warned but it was too late. Alex was running her fastest - which was hard because her hands were tied behind her back. Levi was officially ticked off now; she couldn't just listen, could she? Levi used his gear to make it on top of a tree branch. His gear was way faster than Alex's running, so he decided to wait there until her force field went down by itself.

Just as he thought, her force field start to flicker by the time she was close to him. He jumped down from the tree branch and walked over to her. By the time he was close enough to her, her force field had gave out which caused her to groan. "Did you really think this would go well?" Levi taunted taking off her family ring and shoving it in her front pocket. Alex glared at him, "It was worth a try to get about from your annoying ass." Levi glared at her then shoved her out of the forest.

"You are so going to clean your ass off tomorrow."


	18. The Event

Levi had - somehow - managed to get Alex to where the event was being held without having to strangle her, or knock her out. The event was back at the camp where at three Titans were being held. All the squads were there, some of them were even excited for it to start. Even though it was for science, and it could possibly help them understand the Titans a little bit more; Alex wasn't as fond as the idea as the other soldiers. Eren noticed Alex and walked over with a smile, then his eyes looked down and saw her hands tied.

"Wow, what happened to you?" Eren asked and earned an I'm-going-to-fucking-murder-someone glare. Eren looked away to avoid Alex's angry eyes.

"You can take them off now, I'm not going to run," Alex sighed. Levi shook his head, "I don't trust you." Alex leaned her head back and groaned. "They're hurting," she said. "Good," Levi smirked tightening the rope. Alex brought her foot up then kicked him as he stood behind her, "You're a dick and I hate you with a passion."

"Okay! As you all know we're going to be doing a little experiment," Hanji shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. Alex's eyes widened; she wasn't ready. Not now, not ever. Eren was standing beside her with his arms crossed. "Eren.." Alex shout-whispered to him. Eren turned his head and looked at her, "What?"

"Untie me," Alex order wiggling her hands behind her back.

"I can't. He's watching," Eren whispered back. Alex narrowed her eyes at him.

"So? Just do it or you'll wake up with your balls chopped off," Alex threatened. Eren's face flashed with fear. "He's literally right behind you," Eren stated.

"Do it or-"

"Shut the fuck up you two," Levi glared. Eren immediately faced Hanji while Alex glared at both of the men.

"I have to pee," Alex said trying to get out of being there.

"Hold it." Levi said.

"I swear I will burn off your eyelids," Alex growled at Levi. His eyes slowly looked at her and glared. "Just shut up and listen." Alex rolled her eyes and looked forward.

"I might die while doing this, but it's worth it!" Hanji said excitedly with a smile painted on her tan face. Alex didn't understand how she - or anyone - could be excited for this. First off, they are going to be pulling out dead bodies from the attack on Trost and possibly some from that attack five years ago. Second, the soldiers that are going to be pulling out the bodies could possibly die.

Alex didn't see how that was exciting.

"Shall we get started?" Hanji asked clapping her hands together. Hanji walked over to blonde haired Titan, it's half-skinned smile opening slightly as it's eyes followed her small figure. 'Edgar' was the only Titan that they had pinned down on it's back; that was the only way they could capture him. Hanji walked over to the Titan's stomach and climbed onto it's steaming body. But with the think layers boots, the soldiers standing on it couldn't feel anything.

Hanji said somethings to the four soldiers then two of the soldiers pulled out their swords and cut a big hole in the Titan's stomach. The Titan's face didn't change; it was staring at the humans that surrounded it with hunger. Hanji was the first to stick her gloved hand into the hot pool of red liquid. Ignoring the burning feeling in her hand, Hanji grabbed something and pulled it out. It was the 3DMG of a deceased soldier; but there was no soldier attached to it.

Hanji handed the gear to a soldier in her squad to stood on the ground. The two men who cut the hole kept moving their swords; cutting the flesh the Titan tried to grow back. Alex was panicking on the inside. Each body they pulled out, a wave of relief washed over her when she realized it wasn't Elisa's frail body. They had pulled out five bodies - or half bodies - out already. They all were soldiers who were marked MIA from the attack on Trost District. Alex didn't know any of them, one's face was burned off from the boiling liquid making it almost impossible to know who they were until they looked at the number on their gear.

Hanji's arm dug deeper into the pool of steaming liquid; her fingers had brushed something but she wasn't able to grab it in time. "Untie me," Alex demanded breathing in and out. Levi crossed his arms and ignored her as he watched one of the soldiers pull out another dead soldier. Alex's eyes traveled to Hanji as Hanji's arm dug deeper into the stomach.

"Seriously, untie me."

He ignored her and continued watching. Hanji smiled when she finally got a grasp on whatever she felt before. She stood up straight and pulled it out. The body was light; like a child's. Alex's eyes widened as she crossed her fingers and prayed it wasn't Elisa. The body was obviously a girl child, but the face was cover with dry blood. "Let me go," Alex said panicked as a soldier handed Hanji a wet cloth to wipe off the dried blood. The girl's dress was pink.

"Just like the one Elisa wore that day," Alex thought but quickly pushed it out of her mind. Levi glanced at Alex's scarred face. It was the first time he had ever seen any emotion out of her except annoyed and anger. Alex's head snapped to him. "Let me go," she pleaded. Her voice wasn't sarcastic, bored, and confident as it usually was - even Eren stared at her with concern.

"I told you, you have to be here," Levi said looking away from her. Hanji had scrubbed most of the blood off by now, and the girl's face was being more clear. There were several burns on her body, her left hand was even missing. Her hair had been burnt a dark black, and you could tell some had been burnt off by the ends.

"I need to go now," Alex breathed as her throat started to swell up. She didn't want to break down - especially with all those people there. Eren looked at Alex with concern. "Are you alright?" Eren asked. Alex shook her head and opened her mouth, but it wasn't her voice that came out.

"Does anybody recognize this girl?" Hanji asked holding up the small girls dead body. Alex's eyes widened and her breathing became heavier, which earned looks from the soldiers near by.

It was Elisa.


	19. Breakdown

It seemed like everything went in slow motion for Alex. Hanji held up her dead sister's body and her mouth moved, but Alex couldn't make out what she was saying. All she could here was ringing her in two ears; and her vision was slightly blurry. Eren had his hand on Alex's right shoulder, and he too, was talking but she only looked at him with confusion and big eyes. Her head seemed to weigh fifty pounds; making it hard for her to turn. Another hand came in contact with Alex's left shoulder and she slowly turned her head and was Levi staring at her with his eyebrows scrunched together. He was also trying to say something, but the ringing in Alex's ears blocked it out.

Alex brought a hand to her cheek and felt a wet substance. Was she crying? She couldn't tell. It didn't feel like she was crying. She was still in shock seeing her dead sister. Her body was so.. lifeless. Pale. Limp. Her lips were chapped, and Alex remember she would always have to tell Elisa to stop licking her lips or they'd get chapped. She couldn't this time.

Alex took a breath in and everything went back to normal. The ringing in her ears stopped, and her vision went back to normal. "Alex? Alex can you hear me?" Eren asked shaking her shoulder. Alex blinked and looked at him with an open mouth. Her eyes then flickered back to Elisa. Hanji had laid her down next to the other dead bodies and there was a red blanket over her body. The red blanket meant 'unknown.'

"Do you know who she is?" Levi asked with raised eyebrows. Alex opened her dry mouth and tried to speak, but her voice cracked and didn't make any sense. "What?" Levi asked.

"Elisa.. Elisa Bellerose. My sister."

After Alex had told them who the body belonged to, she felt all the emotions she had locked up deep inside her mind hit her like a brick. She didn't know what happened - her body took over. The rope that once secured her hands behind her back snapped in half and she took off running into the forest. No one followed her, most people didn't even notice she left. Except Eren and Levi, but they had to report who the body was right away before doing anything.

"Are you sure it's her?" Hanji asked Levi. Levi nodded. "That's what Alex said before she took off running. That idiot.." Levi mumbled the last part to himself. "Should we go after her?" Eren asked worriedly. Hanji shook her head, "She probably needs time to cool off. You should leave her alone for a couple of hours." Levi's eyes looked over at the forest she ran into.

The sun had set already, leaving nothing but darkness for Alex. She didn't know how to feel - what do feel. She was angry.

Angry at herself.

Angry at Titans.

Angry at everything.

All the emotions she kept boxed up over the years were finally showing. Her mind and body couldn't handle it; she was always so emotionless all this sudden emotion felt like someone dropped a hundred pound boulder on her. Alex had ran for awhile now - she no longer knew where she was or how to get back.

She was lost.

She hadn't been paying attention to where she was going (which would have been a good idea). She just wanted to get as far away from that place as possible. Alex looked down at her family ring in anger. She slipped it off her finger and threw it to the ground and stomped on it; but it did not break. It remained undamaged. Alex furrowed her eyebrows and stomped on it again - harder. The ring didn't break this time either. It stay perfectly fine looking like it was new as ever.

She hated that ring.

She hated Titans.

She hated the annoying people she's spent the last four years with.

She hated being alone, even though she knew it was for the best.

And most of all, she hated herself. She hated herself for being weak, for not being able to save Elisa. To her, it should've been her who got eaten by the stupid smiling Titan, not Elisa. Alex reached down into her boot and pulled out her pocketknife. It was once her father's, but he had given it to her to be safe. Alex only used it once for that purpose.

The black haired girl flicked the knife part up and stared at it. It had tiny roses carved on the edges of the blade - only adding to the family name. Alex had never noticed the roses carved in it, yet again, she's never actually looked at it closely. She shook her head and threw the knife a nearby tree, she was mad, sad, angry, hopeless.

Alex walked over to the knife and ripped it out of the rough bark. Her hand wrapped around the silver blade, but she didn't pay attention to the pain in her hand as blood dripped from it. Alex dropped to her knees with her head down, clutching the blade like she was hanging off a cliff and the knife was the branch she was holding onto, to keep from falling into the depths of Hell.

Then she cried.

All the tears she held back in her eyes over the years came flowing out like a dam that broke because the water pressure was too much for it to hold. It actually felt good for her to cry - she had forgotten how to feel emotional pain.

And little did she know that on top of a tree branch, someone was watching her.


	20. Special

| Alex Bellerose |

When I saw Hanji holding Elisa's limp body, I didn't even know what to do. It seemed the world stopped. Like my heart skipped a beat - which it most likely did. Now I'm here, lost in this stupid forest. I didn't have a destination in the first place, so getting lost wasn't a big surprise. I've been so used to keeping my emotions and feelings to myself, and I made sure no one saw them. But this time I did it.

I broke.

Fuck, I'm so stupid. No - this whole thing is stupid. Who would've thought that I, Alex Ryal Bellerose, would possess such a "unique" power. I still don't understand it myself. I mean, why did it have to be me? Why couldn't it have been someone else? I was a nobody - a poor girl who would look for food during the night to survive.

I was nothing.

But now? I'm in the newspapers. I wonder what my parents would think of this - of me. Did they know this would happen? What about this stupid ring? My father gave it to me, does that mean he had it too?

Questions, that's all I could think about lately. I didn't ask anyone about them; it's not like anyone would have the answers to any of them anyways. The sun had set awhile ago, and now I'm surrounded by darkness. I don't mind the dark, it's peaceful. Everyone is usually in bed, making the air quiet except for the soft sound of crickets and birds.

Back when I was a trainee, I would climb the roof the the girls' cabin. There was a tree that was easy to climb, I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who knew about it though. Whenever I couldn't sleep, I'd sneak out of the cabin and go up to the roof and stare at the stars. Elisa and I used to do that together a lot. She's come wake me up if she couldn't sleep and we'd go outside and gaze at the stars until she fell asleep.

That when things were peaceful, good, fine. Before all Hell broke loose. I miss those days.

I looked down at my family ring. It's been in the family for generations now, but yet it still looked like it was just made. This all happened because of this stupid ring. If I didn't have it, I wouldn't have seen Elisa's dead body after five years and go through the pain I went through when she died all over again. In frustration, I threw the silver and black ring to the ground and stomped on it. I expected it to be broken, or at least bent when I lifted up my foot. But it wasn't.

I furrowed my eyebrows together and stomped on it again; this time harder. When I moved my foot it still remained perfectly fine.

Stupid ring.

I reached down into my boot and pulled out the old pocketknife my father gave me for safety reasons. I'd only had to use it once, when a child molester was touching me when I was eight. I stabbed the man and ran for my life, I later found out that he had bleed to death. Because of me.

I never regretted that day - it was either me or him.

The knife had tiny roses carved on the edge of the blade. I'd never notice them before; nor have I ever thought to look. I don't know what's with my family and roses. I understand that our last name is Bellerose, but it seems like every item has a rose on it. The ring, the knife, hell - I still keep the rose Elisa gave me.

I threw the knife angrily at the tree in front of me. The blade penetrated the wood pretty deep. I walked over to the tree and pulled the knife out of the rough bark. I didn't even realize that I was holding by the blade - nor did I care. I dropped to my knees.

I was weak.

I am weak.

I'd let my peers see my weak side. See that I actually have a weak side. That was never supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen.

But it did.

They just had to capture the Titan that ate Elisa.

They just had to pick that one Titan to remove the dead citizens and soldiers out of.

And I just had to be there.

I would have been better off not being there to see them pull out my dead sister. It's all the Levi guy's fault. He was arrogant and annoying. I disliked him at first because people always compared me to him. Then I actually met him and he was nothing but a stuck up brat who bossed everyone around because he was superior compared to them.

I'll admit - I can be arrogant and rude. But at least I don't purposely make people upset or angry (unless they deserved it). I don't even think he has emotions. He might as well be a robot.

To be honest; it wouldn't be surprising if he actually was.

I didn't notice I was crying up until now, and I didn't care. It felt nice. It felt good. All those tears I've kept back over the years flowed out of my eyes like a waterfall. Blood dripped down from my cut hand.

I didn't care.

I didn't mind.

I was alone, and that's all that matter.


	21. No More Emotions

"What happened to your hand?" Eren asked curiously when Alex stepped out of her room. After Alex's breakdown in the wooded area, she had found her way out back. Alex looked down at her wrapped hand. "It's nothing," Alex insisted pushing past Eren. Eren blinked then turned around and laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. Alex stopped walking and hung her head.

"I'm sorry.. about your sister," Eren said with sympathy. Alex turned her head and her black hair covered her face. She blinked away the forming tears. "It's fine," she said quickly and shook his hand off then vanished from his sight. Eren sighed. He actually felt bad for her, he probably would've rage quit if they had pulled out his mother's body. He couldn't understand why Alex was so calm about the situation. But that's all she ever was really, calm, relaxed, and every other word that doesn't mean out of control. To him, Alex was a mystery.

After Alex had walked away from the Titan-Shifter, she unwrapped her injured hand. The cut wasn't bleeding anymore - but it still stung a little bit. Not enough for her to show it though. She let out a small sigh and picked up a clean white bandage. She threw her bloodied one away and wrapped the new one around her cut.

She felt better after her night in the woods. All the feelings she kept inside over the last five years were let out. It felt like over a hundred pounds were lifted from her shoulders. Although she was still majorly upset about what happened at the event the other night, she continued with her calm, relaxed, and bored attitude.

"It was just one slip," she thought, "it won't ever happen again."

Alex shook her head and walked out of the old building, only to bump into someone's chest. Alex growled and lifted her hands to shove the person out of the way, but when they noticed what she was planning to do they gripped onto her wrists with force.

"I think you should take some days off," Levi said tightening his grip on the young girl's wrists. Alex slowly rose her head up to look at the slightly taller man. "I'm fine. It's fine," Alex assured and tried to free her wrists. Levi's eyes traveled to her wrapped hand.

"If so, then why is your hand wrapped up?" Levi asked looking at her with soulless eyes. Alex looked away from his eyes, "I fell. That's all. Now let me go."

Levi stared at her for a few seconds before loosening his grip. "You are taking some time off. It's obvious you're emotionally unstable after what happened last night, and I don't need any of that on my squad at the moment. So take some time off and get better. You're no use on the battlefield if you're not thinking right," Levi said then turned around to watch the soldiers train. Alex glared at the dark haired male before turning around without a word.

He was right - she wasn't thinking straight. At that very moment she didn't have her mind set straight. Instead, she had filled it with her selfish thoughts and problems.

Alex slammed her bedroom door close and laid down on her twin bed. Why was she suddenly falling apart? Even Levi noticed that she wasn't completely fine. She needed to stop it - stop being weak. That was weak to her. Letting emotions get the better of you. It was weak in her blue eyes. She need to go back to training, to where the only thing that was on her mind was getting stronger and better.

She needed to stop her emotions.

And for good this time.

"I assume our orders to remain on standby will last for a few more days, but I hear they're planning a major expedition beyond the wall thirty days from now. And that fresh graduates are going to participate right off the bat too," explained the blonde. Alex sat there looking down on her tea. It had lost it's warmth and was now cold and bitter. The sweetness didn't taste as good as it did when it was warm. At the moment, Squad Levi were gathered around a wooden table. Each member had a cup of tea, and they talked about the upcoming events.

"Is that true? It seems pretty sudden to me, especially since the rookies already had to endure this latest Titan attack," another voice said. But Alex wasn't paying attention - she was lost in her thoughts. She was tired, too.

"I bet those brats were scared out of their wits."

Alex looked up to see the man from earlier, Auruo. The same idiot who bit his tongue on the way to the old headquarters. "Most were. Most died. But tell me, were you scared on your first mission?" Alex asked tilting her head while looking at him with a hard glare.

"Is that true, sir?" Petra asked breaking the uncomfortable silence within the group.

"I'm not in charge of comping up missions. But, knowing Erwin, he's put far more thought into this than we have," Levi explained calmly. Alex's eyes slower moved over to Levi - which made Auruo let out a relieved sigh - when he spoke.

"Indeed, there's never been a situation like this before. So many lives were lost establishing a route to reclaim Wall Maria. Just when it seemed like it went up in smoke, suddenly a completely different hope has presented themselves," the blonde soldier, Eld, said looking over at Eren and Alex.

"It's still hard to believe, but how does this 'changing into a Titan" and force field stuff work anyways?" Eld asked staring at Alex and Eren. Everyone at the table was at this point.

"My memories aren't very clear, but it's like being in a trance. I set it off by inflicting self-harm, though," Eren explained looking up. Then the soldier's eyes traveled to Alex, waiting for her explanation. Alex slowly raised her eyes from her cold tea and stared tiredly at the group.

"My ring," she said simply. That's all there really was to it - her family ring with the black rose on it.

"You guys know you can't get any more information out of them than what's in the reports. Not that she won't try, of course. Better hope you guys don't end up dead when she tinkers with you two," Levi said taking a drink from his tea.

"Huh? Who is 'she'?" Eren asked sitting up. Just as he said that, someone started pounding on the wooden door behind Levi. Petra got up from her seat and took the board that held the two doors together out.

"Good evening, members of Squad Levi! How's castle life treating you?" Hanji said with a wave. Alex already knew her, but Eren hadn't officially met her other than in Sina.

"You're early," Levi said without looking at the crazy-haired woman.

"I just couldn't help myself!" Hanji said excitedly.

"Section Commander Hanji.." Eren mumbled remembering her name. Alex's eyes shot unnoticed glares at the Titan lover.

"Sorry for the wait! I'm actually in charge of examining the three Titans we caught in town, you know. I'd like you two to help me out with some more of my experiments tomorrow, so I came to get your permissions," Hanji explained.

"Experiments? Like the one last night? Why would I-" Eren started to ask.

"Why.. the most exhilarating thing of all, of course!" Hanji said, interrupting Eren.

"Well I'm - we - aren't in a position to give permission to ourselves. We don't have authority over ourselves, you see.." Eren explained. Alex rolled her fiery blue eyes. She didn't want anything more to do with those Titans - that Titan.

"Levi! What are their plans tomorrow?" Hanji asked turning her head to look at the bored man.

"Cleaning the garden and horse stable," Levi answered.

"Great! It's decided! I look forward to tomorrow!" Hanji said looking at the two teenagers.

"Uh.. right," Eren said awkwardly.

"I'd rather clean the garden," Alex spoke up. The happiness from Hanji's eyes vanished when Alex spoke. Her eyes moved to look at the girl.

"W-what?! Why?" Hanji whined. Alex slowly blinked then glared at the higher-up.

"What kind of Titan experiments are we talking about here?" Eren asked grabbing Hanji's attention.

"Hm?" Hanji asked looking at Eren.

"Er, I said, what kind of experiments are we-" Eren started.

"Hey, stop! Don't ask that!" Auruo warned. Hanji smiled, "Ah.. I knew it.. I thought you might be curious enough to ask.."

After those words left her mouth, all the members of Squad Levi got up and exited the room except Eren. Alex got up without a word, not wanting to hear about the crazy woman's experiments. She didn't care, because she wasn't going to help with anything. As she walked down the dark lit hallway, she suddenly felt a presence beside her.

She side glanced at the person and saw it was her squad leader. She said nothing, but looked forward and continued walking towards her room. Alex pretended Levi wasn't there, until he spoke.

"You will resume training in two days, that's how long you have off," Levi said. Alex nodded without a word. She was tired and wanted sleep. They arrived at her door, and Alex stuck her hand out to turn the silver knob. Levi opened his mouth to say something, but Alex walked in and shut the door in his face.

"I'm tired, leave me alone and go clean."

Alex stood silently next to Eren and Levi as she watched Hanji scream-ramble about the dead test subjects. Someone had sneaked in and killed all three of them, but when the guards noticed them they had already used their gear to get away. Even though she didn't like the idea of the Titans being alive, it had prevented them from learning anything knew about the Titans. She separated herself from the two men and started walking to the other side of the area.

"What do you see here? What do you think the enemy is?"

"Human's themselves," Alex answered. Erwin smiled as Alex turned to look at him.

"You catch on quickly, Alex Bellerose."


	22. New Recruits & Leaving the Wall

Alex stood there leaned up against the wooden door frame. At the moment, she was in a secluded room with Erwin, Levi, and some other higher ups who answered Erwin's question the day before. While all the other soldiers were getting their gear checked out, Erwin had called in the certain amount of people who answered correctly. Of course, all their gear was checked out that morning.

"I'm surprised," a voice said standing next to Alex while Erwin explained the upcoming plan to Hanji and some other soldiers.

"Of what?" Alex asked turning her head to look at Humanity's Strongest Soldier. "That you answered correctly," Levi explained staring into her matching bored eyes. Alex gave a small shrug and looked forward. "I thought the answer would be obvious to everyone. But I guess not all people think exactly like a smart soldier," Alex sighed moving her head to where her bangs fell down over her eyes. Levi studied the girl; he didn't understand her. Well, he did to a certain point. Just two days ago she was a weak soldier who broke down, he knows it because he saw it.

After she ran off, he followed her. It was his job after all - to watch her and the Titan-boy. He got a front row seat of her emotional breakdown in the wooded area, far from headquarters. There was one thought that crossed his mind every so often when he would look at the bored girl; that she was somewhat like him. Although, he'd never admit it even if his life was on the brink of death; he and she were the same in many ways.

And that's what bugged him about it. She thought like him for many things; strategy, fighting, and thinking outside of the box in certain situations. She fought a lot like him, and she even mastered many of his unique moves with the 3DMG before she even saw him in battle. She always had the same bored, emotionless look painted on her pale face. Even though she cracked two nights ago, she didn't let it get in the way of being a good soldier.

A great soldier.

She had the same sassy and rude attitude towards everyone. She didn't like taking no for an answer. She preferred to be alone; to work by herself because she felt that anyone else would weigh her down. She puts her comrades'life before hers when they are in danger.

She was like him in many ways.

And it annoyed him.

"You've been staring at me for awhile now, it's creepy." Alex said, breaking Levi out of his thoughts. Levi glared at the blue eyed girl and turned his head away from hers.

There was finally someone like him; and he didn't know how to feel about it.

"Hey, Alex. How's your hand?" Eren asked from her left. Alex looked down at her wrapped hand that was gripped around ropes that steer the horse.

"Fine," Alex answered bluntly and looked forward. After the meeting with Erwin and the check out with the gear - which none of the cadets had used the night of the test subject's deaths - Alex had been helping Eren feed the horses when Levi suddenly showed up on his dark horse and said they needed to be somewhere. And now there they are; riding horses to the inner wall.

Eren glanced at the girl concerned but then gave up and looked forward at the dirt path. She confused him; and he didn't like it. To him, she was a more boarded up Mikasa. Eren shook his head and decided to try a different conversation.

"So, how many people do you think will join the Scouts?" Eren asked looking over at Alex.

"Not sure. I know for sure your two friends will join because they follow you everywhere, but other than that I'm pretty sure no one else will," Alex said plainly. After the last attack, she wasn't sure if any other people would join except Mikasa and Armin. Most of them were probably scared out of their minds after seeing an actual Titan.

Eren nodded and looked away from the black haired girl, obviously knowing that striking a conversation with her was just a waste of time.

Alex stood next to Petra off to the side of the stage. Levi had told her to go a different path and go as fast as she could so she could make it on time since she knew about what they were planning.

It was nighttime now, and the only source of light was coming from the scattered torches. They were at the ceremony; where the cadets will choose which division they want to join.

"I am Erwin Smith, commander of the Scout Regiment. Today is the day you must choose a corps to join," Erwin started, standing at the front of the stage facing the cadets, "I'm here today to invite you to join the Scout Regiment. During this latest Titan attack, you discovered the terror of Titans, and the limitations of your own abilities."

"However, in this battle, more than ever before, we made progress towards victory. Thanks to the existences of Eren Jaeger and Alex Bellerose. Their all-out efforts proves beyond any doubt that they are on our side. Furthermore, with their help, we not only stopped the Titan invasion, we gained a means to understand the true nature of Titans and what other kind of things are out there!" Erwin explained. The crowd gasped and some of the soldiers whispered to one another.

"Located in the basement of his home in Shiganshina District, we believe there is a secret to the Titans that even he is unaware of. We also believe that there will be an explanation to Alex's powers, considering both dads' of the two were close friends. If we can reach that basement, we may gain a clue to break free from a century of Titan domination!" Erwin continued to explain. More whispers came from the crowd. Most of them were shocked at the new information.

"We will set out for the basement located in Shganshina District. But in order to do so, it is imperative that we retake Wall Maria. That is to say, our objective remains unchanged. But now that we are unable to use the gate in Trost District, we must take a roundabout route from Karanes District to the east. The route we spent four years building for our army has become completely useless. During those four years, more than sixty percent of the Scout Regiment died. Sixty percent in four years. An insane casualty rate. This group of new recruits will join us on our expedition outside of the wall one month from now. The chances are thirty percent of you will die," Erwin explained as gasps and whispers came from the crowd of soldiers, "four years from now, the majority of you will be dead. But those who overcome that will become superior soldiers with a high survival rate. You now know dismal state of affairs."

Erwin went on explaining, but Alex zoned out. She already knew all of this; she actually knew more to it. The faces of the cadets amused her, how shocked they were when he explained. How most of them tried to hide the fact that they were scared, but did a poor job at it. Alex could already tell basically all of them would be joining the Garrison. Because they were to scared to use all the training they learned over the past three years on an actual Titan. They'd rather stay safe inside the wall, where things are only going to get worse if they don't find out any more information about the Titans and how to stop them, or how they were made in the first place.

"Pathetic," Alex thought scanning the rows of fearful faces. Erwin then stopped explaining the plan, and dismissed the cadets.

"Commander, don't you think you scared them more than necessary? There might now be a singer person who'll remain," a soldier from behind Alex said stepping in front of her. Many of the cadets looked at each other and walked away; going to join the Garrison or Military Police. The majority of the people walked away, but there were a good handful of them who stayed. Alex recognized most of them; she was actually surprised that they stayed. Especially Jean - he was always the one who'd brag about joining the Military Police.

Erwin scanned the small group of people, "You people.. If someone tells you to die, would you do it?"

"We don't want to die!" A soldier shouted back.

Erwin smiled, "I see.. I like the look on your faces. Then effective immediately! I welcome all of you here as new members of the Scout Regiment! This is a real salute! Give your heart!"

Erwin, and all the soldiers who stayed gave their best salutes.

"You did well to control your fears. You are all brace soldiers. You have my heartfelt respect."

The couple of days, the soldiers spent most of their time learning about the positions for the upcoming expedition. They didn't get to know where Alex and Eren would be, but they got to know everything else. Well, mostly. Squad Levi was the only few people who knew the where the two abnormal teenagers would be, they all had to explain it to Eren in private though.

Right now, Alex and Eren were cleaning the stable. Auruo was ordered to watch them while they did so. Eren looked out the stable doors and saw the new recruits, then asked Auruo something. Auruo muttered something to him, then Eren left Alex alone to feed the horses. Alex held up her last piece of hay to her own horse. She had decided to name it Jem shortly after they arrived at the abandoned headquarters.

Alex finished feeding Jem, she decided to walk out and see what Eren was so excited about. She walked past Auruo without saying anything to see Eren talking to the familiar faces of his friends. Alex knew all of them; she had small side conversations with them often. But they were always short and boring. Bertholdt was the first one to notice her.

Bertholdt was one the few people Alex could tolerate; he was quiet and never bugged her. Like Sasha, she'd always be asking Alex for her food. Christa would always try to be nice to Alex and try to get her to wear a dress or do something girly. Ymir was okay, but she would get pissed whenever Alex said something rude to Christa. Jean was just an arrogant asshole to her; and she hated how he thought of himself so much. Reiner always tried flirting with her, but stopped after Alex kicked him in his manhood one day. Armin was tolerated, he didn't say much but he tried to be Alex's friend many times but failed. And Mikasa was decent except when it came to Eren.

"Hey, Alex." Bertholdt said walking over to the short girl. He towered over her by almost a foot - maybe it was a foot.

"So, Annie and Marco are the only ones who joined the Military Police, eh?" Alex asked him as Jean walked up to Eren and started talking. Bertholdt frowned and scratched the back of his neck. "Actually.. uhm.. M-Marco died.." Bertholdt mumbled, but it was loud enough for Alex to hear. Alex wouldn't admit it; but she was slightly sad when she heard that. Marco was too nice for his own good; he reminded her of Elisa.

But everyone has to die eventually.

Alex nodded and then looked up at the tall man and patted his back hard, "There will be a time for all of us." With that, she walked away from the group of teenagers. Once she got out of hearing range from them, and everyone else for that matter, she leaned her back against the wall and slid down to the ground. She was tired; she couldn't sleep most nights anymore. The nightmares she stopped having after she joined the Cadets came back. Almost every night, she would relive That Day.

That horrible, gruesome, sad day.

She closed her blue eyes and smiled at the peacefulness. It was quiet; the only thing heard was the wind blowing in her ears and the singing of birds. Alex felt herself drifting slowly into a peaceful sleep. It was nice.

There weren't any nightmares this time.

Alex woke up in her small bed blinking rapidly. She didn't fall asleep here; so how did she get here? She didn't remember waking up and walking back to her room. She was beyond confused.

"Maybe I slept walked.." she mumbled to herself then sat up.

"No, you fell asleep outside like an idiot and I had to pick up your lazy ass and bring you back here," a voice explained annoyed. Alex rolled her eyes and looked over at Levi. He was sitting in the dark gray chair with his legs crossed. Alex glared at him.

"Get out," she ordered. The raven haired man shrugged and stood up. He walked over to the door and opened it.

"Be ready in five, we're leaving for the expedition soon."

The bells went off in the district. Alex sat there on her horse, Jem, next to Eren. Levi was in front of her, and the other members of her squad surrounded Eren and her.

"The time has come! From this moment, humankind takes another step forward. Show us the fruits of your training!"

All the soldiers cheered and raised their fists' in the air.

"Being opening the gate!"

The gate slowly lifted itself from the ground, pieces of dirt fell from the spikes in the bottom of it.

"Move out!"

All the horses started running out of the safe wall.

"The fifty-seventh expedition outside the wall begins now! Forward!"


	23. Expedition (Part One)

It was quiet - really quiet. No one spoke for the longest time after they closed the gate behind the soldiers. The only thing that could be heard were the fast footsteps of the horses. It was nice, but had a lot of tension, until Hanji looked over and noticed something.

"A ten-meter approaching from the left front!" Hanji shouted then mumbled something after. Two soldiers from the support squad made their way over to the nearby Titan to take care of it. To Alex's surprise, she wasn't nervous; she wasn't scared of dying that day. The word 'forward' kept being shouted at the soldiers on horses as they rode. Alex sneaked a glance at Eren and saw that we was trying his best to be calm; but she could see through his weak attempt.

"Don't be scared Eren, didn't you always say you wanted to go outside the walls?" Alex asked looking at Levi's cape as the wind made it move in every direction. Eren blinked and looked over at the black haired girl. "I'm not scared," he argued then looked away from her.

"Auruo, can they.. Can my cadet classmates defeat Titans?" Eren said looking at the stuck-up man.

"What? What've you been doing this past month? Listen you little shit, expeditions outside the wall are all about how not to kill the Titans-" Auruo cut himself off by biting his tongue. A small amount of blood splattered into the wind, but Auruo ignored it and went to open his mouth again, but this time Alex cut him off.

"Will you shut the fuck up? You're whiny annoying voice is giving me a headache," Alex growled causing Eren to stifle a laugh. Auruo glared at her but kept quiet. Last time he tried testing her, well, it didn't end that great for him.

"Deploy long-range enemy-scouting formation!" Erwin shouted sticking out one of his arms.

Immediately, small groups of soldiers separated themselves from the group and rode off to the sides, getting into formation. They had spent most of the last month studying the formation, who's where, how far to go, what to do and so on. The rest of it was basically physical training. Not long after the groups were formed, a red flare went off. Alex frowned then remembered that whenever someone finds a Titan, they're supposed to set off a red flare.

"That was fast," she thought then looked away from the red line in the sky.

More gunshot sounds and red flares came faster than Alex could look to her left. Just then, a green flare went off pointing in the opposite direction of the red ones. That meant everyone was supposed to go that way, and avoid contact with the Titans. It was silent for awhile again. No one in Squad Levi spoke, they all just stared forward with calm faces. There weren't anymore red flares going off for the longest time, which made Alex confused.

Until someone set off a black flare. Black meant a variant Titan - they had unpredictable behavior. Alex had never actually seen one; she thought it'd be interesting though. Another black flare went off around the area the first one had. Alex frowned, but then resumed to her usual bored face. They hadn't seen any Titans yet; but it was understandable since they were in the direct center of the formation, and it was everyone else's job to keep them safe by taking care of the Titans. Moments later, another black flare went off about a mile from where the other two went off.

"Another one?" Alex thought but then shrugged it off. They probably took care of it. Eren kept glancing at Alex with a worried expression. Alex pretended not to notice it, but after he kept doing it ever minute she turned to him, "You're worried about your friends, right?"

Eren's eyes widened and he turned back to Alex. "They're your friends too.." Eren trailed off. Alex shook her head and looked forward. "I don't have friends." Eren's face dropped a little, but when Alex noticed it she decided to comfort him in a way.

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure they can make it on their own. Most of them made the top ten, they can handle themselves," Alex assured him, which actually calmed Eren down a little bit. Eren gulped then nodded and looked to his right. His eyes widened at how many yellow flares went up in one area.

Alex glanced to her right, "I guess they were hit pretty badly. You know anyone that was over there?" Eren looked away and thought about it.

"No.. I don't think so," Eren said unsure. "Then you have nothing to worry about," Alex said bluntly then looked forward. Eren didn't say anything, but instead nodded and looked forward.

This expedition will be filled with nothing but blood.


	24. Expedition (Part Two)

Multiple green flares shot up into the sky pointing to the left, changing the formation direction. The mission was still continuing - even though the emergency flares where shot up, along with a few black ones. They weren't retreating. Squad Levi noticed it, and Auruo was the one to shoot the next bright green flare.

"I have a report!" shouted a soldier as he road up next to Squad Levi on his horse. Alex's eyes traveled to the speaking soldier.

"It's a verbal message," the man continued, "the search squad on the right flank suffered a devastating blow! They've lost the capability to scout the enemy. Please relay this message to the left flank!"

"So that's why there was a lot of emergency flares," Alex thought to herself.

"You heard him, Petra. Go!" Levi said calmly looking back at the short haired girl. "Yes, sir!" Petra replied and turned left, leaving Alex's side.

"Armin's on that side.." Eren mumbled.

"He's more in the center. Along with the other. The Titans probably haven't gotten that far yet," Alex assured him bluntly. She had studied the formation closely; making sure she memorized every detail. Because there is always the unexpected.

Three black flares shot up to their right, not that far from them. "Black flares?!" Eren asked no one particularly. "A variant?!" He continued, looking over to his right as the black flares slowly disappeared into the air.

"Alex, you fire it." Levi said slightly looking back. Alex gave a small nod and reached into the bag of flares on her horse then shot a black one into the air.

"What a mess.. They let it get awfully deep inside the formation," Levi muttered to himself while thinking. Alex knew the plan; go into The Forest of Giant Trees. There would be a trap there, for the 'unexpected.' Alex didn't know how Commander Erwin knew there would be something - anything - during this expedition. But it wouldn't surprise Alex in the least. Maybe the Commander thought that the Colossal or Armour type Titans would try to come after Eren and her, after all, they broke the walls for a reason.

"Captain! Captain Levi!" Eren shouted went they entered the center of the landmark.

"What is it?" Levi asked with his usual bored tone.

"What? This is a forest! If only the center column enters the forest, we won't be able to see Titans coming! They seem to be coming from the right.. How are we going to avoid the Titans and protect the supply wagons?" Eren asked curiously and worriedly. Alex rolled her eyes - he asked too many questions. All he needs to do is trust them.

"Stop whining about the obvious. There's no way we can do that anymore," Levi answered bluntly while looking forward.

"What?! Th-Then why?" Eren stuttered, obviously not getting the point.

"Look around you, Eren, at all these uselessly big ass trees," Alex said rolling her blue eyes.

"It's the ideal environment to make use of our 3D Maneuvering Gear. Now think with that mediocre brain of yours. Think really hard if you don't want to die," Levi continued.

"Yes, sir." Eren replied, getting the obvious now.

"What's with this? Stop messing around with us! What the fuck is going on?" Auruo muttered through gritted teeth. Alex rolled her eyes at him - he was always the one saying how he knew everything. "Not this time bitch," Alex thought and smirked inwardly, but kept a straight face on the outside. Alex looked at her comrade's faces. They all showed confusion, they didn't know what was going on.

"I guess it's just Levi and I that know," Alex thought then looked forward.

Another black flare was shot, this time behind them. "Another black flare? That one came right behind us!" Eld spoke up, Alex could practically smell the panic in his voice. Yes - smell, because it was too obviously by the sound. "It's whatever that came from the right," Eld said, more calmer.

"Everyone, draw your swords," Levi said pulling out of of his, "if it shows itself, it'll only be for a moment."

A soldier with dark hair revealed himself from the giant tree into the center of the path, directly behind the squad. Both Alex and Eren turned around to stare at the now still soldier in the air. Then in the blink of an eye, a female-type Titan came running with one hand covering it's neck, and the other smashed the brave soldier like a fly against the large trees. Eren gasped while Alex just blinked and looked away as the loud footsteps vibrated the ground.

"So he was right," Alex thought thinking of what Erwin had said when he told them about the plan. But how did he know?

"Move it!" Levi shouted and all the horse started going at full speed. But the Female Titan was fast. Really fast.

She ran up right behind the group and reached out of Alex and Eren, but her coordination was wrong and her hand went right through a tree - allowing the group to get a head start as she stopped to position herself. But that didn't stop her from catching up - she was fast. Alex looked behind her at the Female Titan, her face showed disgust when she saw it smiling.

Smiling.

"Is she having fun, killing people like flies?" Alex thought in disgust. How? How is that close to fun? Titans eat people - and kill them in the process. She was just killing them to kill them. There was no real purpose to it; they were just in her way.

"There's no way to run from it in this forest!" Gunther said looking back at the Female Titan.

"It's gaining on us!" Eld shouted as the Titan grew closer.

"Captain! Let's switch to 3D Maneuvers! Captain!" Petra shouted desperately at the Captain. A soldier shouted something, but it was either too far or too windy for Alex to hear. The soldier used it's gear and showed up behind the female formed Titan.

"You have reinforcements from the rear!" Petra shouted with hope. Alex wished she wouldn't do that - hope only makes it more painful in the end. The soldier that had shouted before shot their grapple, but the Female Titan dodged it then grabbed the cord and made a bloody sandwich between a large tree and her back; the soldier being in the middle.

Another soldier that was in front of the Titan got killed when it grabbed their cord too and slammed them into one of the trees and sent blood flying everywhere. Everyone in the group stared back with wide eyes full of fear except Alex and Levi; the ones who knew the risky plan.

"Captain! Your instructions?!" Petra yelled with fear.

"Let's do it! That one's dangerous! We should kill it!" Auruo yelled.

"I'm gonna waste you," Eld growled pulling out one of his swords.

"Captain!"

"Tell us what to do!"

"It's almost on us!"

"We're going to kill it!"

More yelling and shouting came from the group as they all questioned their Captain. Eren looked over at Alex, not understanding how she could stay calm in this situation.

Just like Levi.

Levi turned around, "Cover your ears, everybody." The soldiers gave him a questioning look, but obeyed and put their hands over their ears as he shot a sound flare. Alex looked behind her, only to see the Female Titan kill another soldier.

Yep, nothing but blood.


	25. Expedition (Part Three)

Even though the elite soldiers had their hands covering their ears, the loud ringing noise cause their heads to to hurt. "An acoustic shell?!" Eren asked slightly surprised. Levi turned around at the Titan-boy, "Tell me, what is your job again? Is it to surrender to your emotions of the moment? No, it's not. This squad's mission is to do everything possible to keep these brats unharmed. Down to our last breath."

Eren's eyes widened slightly as he stared into space. Alex kept her usual straight face; emotionless eyes and her lips in a thin straight line. "We're going to keep pushing ahead on horseback. Got it?" Levi stated.

"Understood, Sir!" Petra said with a nod, her honey colored hair flying back as she pushed against the wind.

"Push ahead?! But for how long?! Not to mention, it's almost on top of us now. More.. More reinforcements! They'll get killed too if we don't hurry up and help them!" Eren said looking back at the female Titan.

"Stop whining and face forward. Trust me, if she gets to close to us, I have my ring," Alex said lifting up her hand with her family ring on it and wiggling her fingers, "so calm down."

Eren frowned. "Calm down?! How am I supposed to calm down, when our comrades are sacrificing their lives for us?!" Eren shouted at the black haired girl, his anger getting the best of him.

"They signed up to die the minute they joined the Scout Regiment. They were going to die eventually anyways," Alex said bluntly. She was speaking the truth; hoping Eren would calm down, but her statement only made him angrier.

"Are you serious?! Are you heartless?! Do you even care about anyone except yourself?! You're so selfish!" Eren shouted at her. Alex's eyes met his in a flash and darkened. Their usual bright blue turned a darker shade. "Selfish? Do you remember that time I pushed you away from that Titan in Trost and ended up getting eaten by it? Or that time I helped and encouraged you when you were carrying the boulder to the hole? Or maybe about the time I gave you advise about the 3D Maneuver Gear so you wouldn't fail and have to back to the fields?!" Alex said, her darkened blue eyes piercing into Eren's green sea ones. Eren frowned - all of that was true. But still, his anger got the best of him.

"Maybe you did! So what? Because right now you're a heartless bastard, not caring about the lives of our comrade right now!" Eren shouted gritting his teeth. The rest of the group stayed quiet as they listened to the two arguing. Levi was amused by it, but his face only showed coldness.

"There will be a time where all of us are dead. If it's today, or tomorrow, eventually all of us will be dead. Those soldiers know that they are facing death, otherwise they wouldn't be trying to kill it. So shut up and be quiet," Alex said, her voice becoming low and more scarier. Eren turned away from her and glared at the moving ground.

"Don't fall out of step! Maintain top speed!" Eld ordered, breaking the awkward and uneasy silence.

"Why?!" Eren asked looking back at the blonde. "Who can possibly stop it, if not the Levi Squad?!" Eren continued. A soldier yelled out from behind them, and Alex turned her attention to him, only to see the Female Titan smash him into a tree like a bug. His blood splattered and stained the bark; his body unrecognizable as his insides slid down the base of the tree. Eren gasped at the bloody sigh, "Another one's dead! We could've saved him too! One person's still fighting! There's still time to save him!"

"Eren! Focus ahead and keep moving!" Petra shouted at him.

"Are you telling me to ignore the fighting behind us?! Just to run away and abandon my comrades?!" Eren shouted back at her.

"Yes! I am! Do as the captain says!" Petra answered.

"I don't understand why we're letting them die! And I don't understand why he won't explain! Why?!" Eren asked.

"He doesn't need to explain," Alex said calmly, "you just need to listen."

Eren frowned and looked down in thought. His eyes stared down at his hand and he slowly brought it up to his mouth. He hesitated - in thought - and then opened his mouth to bite down on his thumb. "Eren, no." Alex said reaching over and pushing her hand down onto his lap. Her slapped away her pale hand and brought his hand back up to his mouth again.

"You're only permitted to do that when your life is in danger! That was our agreement, remember?!" Petra asked. Eren's white teeth were now on the skin of his hand. He sat there thinking if he should do it or not.

"Eren!" Petra tried again.

"You're not in the wrong. If you wanna do it, do it. I can tell. He's a real monster, and not because of his Titan ability. No matter how hard he's restrained, no matter what cage he's put inside, no one can ever tame him. Eren. Our difference in experience is why we don't see eye-to-eye. But you don't need to rely on that. Choose. Will you trust yourself, or me, these guys, and the entire Scout Regiment? I don't know the answer to that, I never have. Whether I trust myself, or the choices of my dependable comrades, there was no telling how things would turn out. So, just do the best you can and choose whichever you'll regret the least," Levi spoke calmly, still facing forward.

Eren lowered his hand and looked back at the running Titan. It still had one hand covering the back of it's neck, but the other one was swinging back and forth as it ran at full speed toward the group. It'd often use it's other hand to smash the soldiers that tried to kill it - her - as she tried catching up. Eren let out a frustrated sigh and turned back forward, and raised his hand up again.

"Eren. Trust us," Alex said looking at him. He lowered his hand down slightly and looked into her blue eyes. How was she calm? Why wasn't she trying to use her powers to help the dying soldiers behind them?

Did she know the plan?

To Eren, it would explain it - all the other members of the elite squad obviously didn't know the plan or what was going to happen. They, themselves, were panicking on the inside, too. But only Alex and Levi stayed calm about the situation.

Eren stared at Alex in deep thought, thinking back to when the group misjudged him when they were experimenting and they all bite their hands like he does before he turns. Behind them, the Female Titan was catching up, but the brave soldiers were stalling her with their lives.

"Eren! Hurry! Decide already!" Levi shouted back at him.

"I'll go with you!" Eren shouted, making his decision. He then closed his eyes, wondering if what he chose was right. Only time will tell, though.

"Let go!" shouted a fearful soldier as the Female Titan grabbed him with her hand then smashed him as she kept running. Eren stared back with an opened mouth, but quickly shut it and turned away. The Female Titan lowered her upper body; pushing the weight forward so she could move faster and more efficient. Dust and dirt flew up behind her; covering the trees in layers.

"Target is speeding up!"

"Keep moving! We're going outrun it!"

The target was directly behind them, it's hand was reaching out towards Alex and Eren. It's blonde hair flowing behind it's face, revealing it's blue eyed smirking face. They kept running, but then it seemed like everything slowed down. The soldiers that were at the front in the beginning of the expedition with Commander Erwin were scattered on the ground and in the trees. They had multiple traps set up in many different angles and spots. The Female Titan slowed down some and stared in shock that she fell for the trap.

"Fire!" Erwin shouted, then all the soldiers pulled down on the cords connected to the traps and they all shot out iron grapple hooks into the Female Titan's flesh. The Titan quickly covered the back of it's neck with both hands and stood still, allowing the iron hooks pierce her skin. The elite squad continued riding forward on their horses as smoke from the trapped blocked their vision of the now trapped Female Titan. Eren stared back in shock.

"Hitch your horses a little further ahead, then switch to your gear. I have to leave for now. Eld's in charge of the squad. Hide Alex and Eren a suitable distance away from that Titan. Look after my horse," Levi said then shot a hook into a tree and used the gas in his tank to go back to the trap, leaving his horse with the squad.

"You don't mean.. They're going to take that Titan alive?" Eren thought out loud. Petra's mouth was open still from what happened minutes ago, while Auruo and Alex kept a straight face. "What do you think of that, Eren, Alex?! We caught that Titan!" Gunther said excitedly.

"This is the might of the Scout Regiment! Don't underrate us you idiots! Now do you see?" Auruo asked. Eren smiled, "Yes!" But soon after he said that, his smile was replaced by a small frown. "Is it a variant or like the Colossal Titan? Commander Erwin could already be.." Eren mumbled to himself, but was cut off by Aurou's annoying shouting.

"Hey! Look sharp!" he shouted.

"Eren! You can think later. Our job is to stand ready further in," Petra explain. "Right!" Eren said with a nod. More explosion sounds came from behind the group. Eren frowned and looked at Alex.

"You knew the plan the whole time, didn't you?" He asked, causing the other members to look at her with questioning looked. Alex side glanced him, "Yes." They're comrade's eyes widened. "What?! Commander and Captain told a newbie like you?!" Auruo shouted in disbelief as they got off their horse and tied them up. Alex looked at him with a bored expression, "You would be correct."

"But why?!" He asked grabbing onto her shoulders and shaking her. He felt betrayed in some way - that they would tell a rookie but not him. It didn't make sense.

"That was his plan from the very beginning, wasn't it?" Eren asked her as Alex shoved Auruo off of her then used her gear to get on one of the high branches. The rest of the group did the same thing with nearby branches. "I can understand why he wouldn't tell rookies like me, but I don't see why he didn't tell you Scout veterans but told a rookie like Alex," Eren said furrowing his eyebrows.

"Shut up!" Auruo shouted at him angrily.

"Are you saying that the commander and captain don't trust us?!" Petra asked swinging on of her blades in the air. Eren turned around nervously, "No. But isn't that how it looks?"

"Petra! Yank the brat's teeth out and stuff them back in his mouth!" Auruo said turning around and waving his blades.

"No. Eren's right," Alex spoke up running her fingers along the sharp side of her sword.

"Huh?" Auruo asked.

"I think the commander had a simple reason for being unable to trust us," Eld explained. Everyone turned their attention to him except Alex.

"Like what?" Auruo asked raising an eyebrow.

"There's only one reason why you can't trust a fellow soldier. There's someone in the regiment who is a Titan or is working for the Titans as a spy," Eld explained looking away.

"A spy? Do you really think there's someone like that?" Gunther asked.

"The commander at least thinks so. It's likely the ones who were told of this plan were the soldiers who've survived five years," Eld said.

"I see. That makes sense. But why was Alex told?" Auruo asked staring at the black haired girl.

"The person inside that Titan body is most likely the one who killed Sawney, Edgar, and Bean," Alex explained, trying to get them to catch on.

"Yeah.. After that happened the commander asked me a question about it.." Petra trailed off.

"So that's why he asked me that question.." Eren muttered to himself.

"If I had been able to answer that question, I might have been able to join the main operation.." Eld said then looked down thinking.

"I knew what was going on. But I chose not to answer. Do you guys know why?" Auruo asked in a bragging manor. Alex rolled her blue eyes.

"Why?" Petra asked.

"Gosh.. don't you know? I suppose people at your level wouldn't know. You haven't reached my level yet," Auruo bragged.

"That's funny, because we only had two meetings discussing the plan and you weren't at either of them," Alex said tapping on her chin with her pointer finger and tapping her right foot to make it look like she was remembering something. Auruo deadpanned then glared at the girl across from him.

"Are you pretending to be Captain Levi again? Captain doesn't say such things," Petra said annoyed.

"Do you think the commander made the wrong decision?" Eld asked but when Eren didn't answer he continued, "Eren, you don't know yet, but one day, you'll understand why Erwin Smith was entrusted with the Scout Regiment, the hope of humankind."

"Captain Levi trusts him implicitly!" Petra assured.

"This is, if you're still alive when the time comes," Aurou said in a snotty voice. Alex rolled her eyes - again - at the annoying man.

"Has anyone every told you how annoying you are? 'Cause you're really fucking annoying," Alex said leaning her head to the side and placing a hand on her hip.

"You stupid bi-" Auruo started and flew over to her branch with his gear to punch her, but was cut off when she twisted the black rose on her ring and put up the almost transparent black force field. "What were you saying?" Alex asked innocently, tilting her head and giving an innocent - yet creepy and strange (according to Auruo) - smile. Auruo's eyes narrowed and he pounded his white fists on the rock hard barrier.

"What the hell?! Why is this thing so hard?" Auruo asked rubbing his bruised and bleeding knuckles. Alex shrugged as the force field slowly disappeared. Auruo frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but a loud inhuman scream came from inside the forest. Everyone in the group turned to where they had came from and stared with open mouths. Alex furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What the hell was that?" Alex asked.

The scream ended, but moments later there were loud, heavy footsteps. Many of them, too.

"What the hell.." Auruo muttered as the loud stomping dialed down. A gunshot noise caught Alex's attention and she looked up. A blue flare. "Looks like it's over. Get on your horses and prepare to withdraw!" Gunther ordered turning to the group. "You heard the man. Let's go see what that bitch inside looks like," Auruo said standing up.

"Do you think we'll find out who she really is?" Eren asked tapping on his gas tank. Everyone was checking everything and adjusting everything before they got back on their horses.

"It's all thanks to you, Eren," Petra said and smiled at the brunette.

"But I haven't done anything," Eren said confused.

"Exactly. You trusted us and didn't turn," Alex said landing beside him.

"Well I suppose they did pretty good to make it back alive on their first mission. But we can't give them credit for that until the operation is over," Auruo said with a smirk.

"Auruo, Petra. For two people who wet their pants during their first battle, you've done well for yourselves," Eld said as they all flew in the air using their gear.

"Don't say that! Don't take away our dignity, Eld!" Petra screamed at him frustrated.

"What dignity?" Alex chuckled and earned a glare from both elites.

"Whoa! So it's true?!" Eren asked staring at the two embarrassed soldiers.

"It's a fact. Just so you know, I didn't wet mine," Eld said with a chuckle.

"Bozo! I have more kills than you! I'm better than you!" Auruo fought back.

"You can't judge who's a better soldier just by kills," Eld smirked.

"Shut up!"

"Petra! Does that mean you sprayed in mid-air?" Eren asked which actually made Alex laugh.

"That's enough! You're not here on a picnic! This is outside the wall! For the record, I didn't leak either!" Gunther shouted back at the laughing and embarrassed soldiers.

"We're rendezvousing with the captain! Continue this after we get back!" Gunther shouted at them after noticing the green flare. He then landed on a branch and shot a green flare in the air, verifying and giving away their location. They continued traveling by gear when they noticed someone in a Scout uniform show up beside them.

"Captain Levi..?" Gunther asked hesitantly.

"It's not him," Alex mumbled to Gunther after looking at the person's figure.

"Who's there?!" Gunther yelled at the mystery person with a frown. Almost instantly, the person grew closer to the dark brunette and cut his torso and cord with their swords. Everyone gasped as his limp body hung down from a tree.

"G-Gunther! Wait! Why are you? Gunther!" Eren shouted and moved towards the hanging body. Eren stared in fear and shock when he saw Gunther's lifeless face. "Eren! Get away from him! He's gone! We need to keep moving!" Alex shouted at him, snapping him out of his trance. She flew right next to him and grabbed onto his shirt, "We need to keep moving! Go!" She then let go of his shirt and allowed him to move on his own.

"Dammit. This whole this is a mess," Alex thought to herself as she moved between two trees, "why does it want us anyways?"

"But Gunther is..!"

"Who's that?!"

"Protect Alex and Eren!"

"Dammit! Why now? Which way do we go, Eld?" Auruo asked looking back at the blonde haired man.

"There's no time to get our horses! Head for HQ at full speed!" Eld ordered. Everyone nodded and continued moving. Alex flew right next to Eren, and Eld, Auruo, and Petra surrounded them. "Is it the Female's operator? Or is there more than one?!" Auruo asked looking over at the hooded figure. "Damn! You'll pay for this! You're going down, even if I have to die too!" Petra shouted at them. All four sets of eyes watched at the figure disappeared behind a tree, and see the flash of lightning.

"I fucking knew it!" Alex shouted frustrated. She hated this - she hated her. "It's coming. The Female Titan!" Eld yelled as the Female Titan grew to full size quickly. The Female Titan quickly stood up straight and started sprinting at the group of elites. "Damn! How could you?! This time, I will kill you myself!" Eren yelled looking back at the sprinting Titan.

"Eren! Shut up and keep moving!" Alex growled at him.

"The three of us will take her down! You two just keep heading for HQ as fast as you can!" Eld ordered causing Eren to frown.

"We'll fight too!" Eren shouted back. "No! Eren, we need to get back to HQ now!" Alex shouted at him and looked at him with cold eyes. One of the soldiers pierced her eyes with two swords, making her go blind for about a minute. The Female Titan instantly covered to nape of her neck and then leaned up against one of the giant trees. Eren and Alex watched as they distanced themselves from the three fast flying soldiers and dangerous Female Titan.

"They're good! They have her total overwhelmed!" Eren thought out loud. "Yeah, they're good but we need to keep moving and not look back. We have to put all our trust in those three," Alex explained using more gas to go faster. Eren quickly caught up to her, "This is the most I've heard you talk within the four years I've known you."

Alex side glanced at him, "Don't get used to it."

"You think a lot like Captain Levi," Eren said, "and act too."

"Stop talking and start moving," Alex said changing the subject. Everyone compared her to that clean freak - and she didn't know why. She was her; he was him. That's it - nothing else.

Alex looked back at the group, only to see Eld get crushed in between the Female's teeth. Eren saw it too and let out a gasp. Alex shook her head and blinked, facing forward. "Don't look back," Alex ordered. "B-But-" Eren stopped talking and turned around. "Eren!" Alex yelled after him, but he ignored her shouting and kept moving towards the Female Titan.

"Fucking idiot," Alex muttered then turned around herself to go after him. She still had that promise to Mikasa; to protect him. Even though Mikasa probably forgot about it, Alex isn't going against her word. She doesn't want Mikasa to go through what she had.

She didn't want anyone to have to.

Alex quickly sped up to Eren just as they saw Petra get smashed against a tree with the Female Titan's foot. Eren let out a sad scream, as did Auruo. Auruo quickly got a hold of himself and went straight for the nape. But something happened; the skin over the nape turned into rock hard crystal material and caused the blades to break. Auruo, Eren, and Alex stared in shock as the Titan quickly reacted and kicked Auruo's fly body; the last one dead.

It was just Alex, Eren, and the Female Titan.


	26. Expedition (Part Four)

"I'm going to.."

"..fucking kill you!"

Alex had finished Eren's sentence with such rage, it even surprised him. In a split second, Eren let his grapple hooks free and stabbed himself in the chest as he flew down to the ground. A bright flash of lightning blinded Alex's vision for a few seconds, but soon disappeared to reveal a Titan formed Eren with steam all around him. Eren roared loudly and started sprinting at the sitting Female Titan with rage. Alex tried her best to stay close beside him, but at the speed Eren was going, it was basically impossible. The Female Titan looked up with wide light blue eyes and a small smirk plastered on her face.

Eren came charging at her with his fist pulled back, but right as he was about to hit her, she stood up and moved out of the way causing him to hit nothing but air. By now, the Female Titan had completely forgotten about Alex since she was now in a fist fight with Eren's Titan form. Alex was still yards away from the fight going on, but her face was determined and her swords were sharp and ready. Alex watched as the Female Titan kicked Eren's Titan form in the gut, causing him to spit up a lot of water and fly back.

The Female Titan still only had one eye generated; and Alex knew that and was planning to take it as an advantage. Only her left eye was healed all the way, but her right one was still blinded. The two Titans caught onto each others arms, but Eren overpowered her and threw her back into a large tree. The Female Titan stood up and took slow steps towards Eren; but left a good distance between them. Eren had his arms up in a fighting position while the Female just there radiating off hot steam.

Alex was closer by now, but now that they had stopped fighting and making noise, the sound of her gear was now noticeable by the blonde haired Titan. The Female Titan slowly turned her head towards Alex's small figure as it glided around the trees around her. Eren took advantage of this distraction and started throwing strength-filled punches at the distracted Titan even though he was out of breath himself. The Female Titan moved quickly and dodged every single hit with ease until the last one where Eren punched her shoulder and sent her flying back onto the ground. Alex was close now; really close. She was basically at the fight, just hiding carefully behind a tree. Before the Female got up, she turned head and observed the area; looking for the important soldier.

Eren roared again; catching the Female's attention. As she fought back, she kept and eye out for the sneaky soldier - Alex. Alex caught her breath as she listened to the roars from Eren and the loud bangs from them stomping and trying to hit each other. No one else was around - only a deer but it had ran off after the Female Titan stomped close enough to it to scare it off.

Alex narrowed her eyes and revealed herself from behind the large tree. Eren had thrown quick punches at the blue eyed Titan, but the Female Titan dodged them swiftly then eventually lost her balance and fell down to the ground; making herself more vulnerable. Alex moved quickly and gracefully towards the two Titan-Shifters as Eren got onto of the Female and tried throwing a punch, but the Female moved her head to the left and dodged it. The punch he throw was so strong, that when his fist can in contact with the ground, his Titan bone snapped and the skin broke apart to reveal it.

Alex yelled out in rage and tried bringing both of her swords down on the Female Titan's left eye, but she noticed the small figure dropping down to her and moved her face to the side last second. Alex's swords only came in contact with the girl Titan's pale cheek.

"What the actual fuck!? Are you fucking kidding me?! You stupid bitch!" Alex yelled, her anger pushing the point to where she couldn't control it. She didn't care though, either. It felt nice letting it out; like that one night over a month ago. It's been over a month since she's let out her emotions. Even though Alex had gone five years without doing it; she had the perfect opportunity for it now.

Alex pulled her swords out of the Female Titan's cheek and quickly jumped up and shot a hook into the nearest tree. Her feet left the Titan's face just as Eren's fist came down, but the Female dodged it once again.

"The Female Titan has incredible reflexes," Alex thought out loud as she watched the two Titan stare at each other. Eren's eyes started twitching then he shoved his face in hers and started letting out emotional roars. The Female Titan closed her headed eye and turned away to avoid contact. It was almost like she knew why he was doing that, what he was saying.

"So I'm going to need to do something quickly and unexpected," Alex confirmed then changed out her dull blades for a pair of sharp and clean ones. Eren lifted his Titan arm into the air. Titan steam rose from both numbs, and Alex knew he was trying to regenerate them as fast as he could. The thing that confused her was his head and mouth. The twitched to the point it was terrifying.

"He better not be losing to his Titan mind," Alex said, her blue eyes widening slightly as she realized why he was twitching like that. He hated the Female Titan. She had killed his - their - comrades, along with many innocent lives of the soldiers who tried to take her down. The Female Titan took his distracting twitching as an advantage and tried to make a move on him. Eren quickly caught on; but not fast enough. The Female Titan threw Eren's Titan form into the tree Alex was standing on.

Alex narrowed her eyes and moved towards the female-like Titan with incredible speed while the blonde haired Titan still had her back turned to Alex. Both Eren and Alex were so caught up in the moment that Eren didn't even notice nor pay attention that Alex was directly behind the Female Titan. His powerful punch he had intended for the Female Titan, actually hit Alex and sent her flying into the tree in front of them. The Female and Eren's eyes widened at the harsh action that just took place. They both stared in fear at the black haired girl as her limp body slid down the giant tree slowly. Her blood stained the dark brown bark, and Eren had the scary thought in his rage-filled mind that she was dead.

That he had killed her.

The Female Titan blinked and quickly made a move to Eren, seeing he was in a state of shock after hitting Alex with such force. Eren came back to his senses and dodged the punch and they both went rolling in opposite directions. Alex's breathing was barely noticeable, and her heartbeat was faint. But she was still alive. She wasn't unconscious - not yet, anyways.

She slowly blinked her blue eyes, small dots of red covered her usual perfect vision. Her body felt weak, and in pain. But the pain was so much, all she really felt was numbness in her nerves. The two Titans kept fighting - totally ignore the fact that the girl leaned against the tree could be dead. But that was good; at least to Alex. At the moment, both of the fighting Titans thought she was dead, and they both were too busy and engulfed into their fight to notice her move anyways.

Alex blinked a couple more times until her vision was back to normal. She moved her head slowly - as it was in pain and throbbing - and looked down at her currently limp body. It was covered in blood. The majority of it was hers, but there was some of it that was evaporating into the steam. It must've been from when Eren punched her and his knuckled tore open; covering her in a small amount of his blood. Alex groaned inwardly and slowly stood back up on her feet. It was a little bit hard - but she managed.

She didn't know exactly where the blood was coming from, there were multiple spots that hurt on her short figure. Her vision was slightly blurry from blood loss, but she ignored both it and the pain. Her lips turned back into a thin straight line as she readied her swords. Eren had pushed the Female Titan up against a tree. Alex could tell that body Titan-Shifters were exhausted; but neither of them looked like they were giving up.

As Eren sprinted at the limp-like Female Titan with a fist pull back, Alex quickly shot a hook into a tree and glided in the air towards the two Titans. Alex's blood spread in the air as she moved with grace. Her ring and force field has no use at the moment. She couldn't expect anything that was about to happen; and when it does, she doubts she'll be fast enough to twist her metal black rose on her ring in time. The Female Titan moved away from the tree with ease, and Eren's fist only can in contact with the rough bark. He leaned up against the tree panting. Alex could tell he was exhausted and that he probably felt bad for possibly killing her - or in his mind, actually killing her. The Female Titan was also catching her breath, faced away from Eren.

Alex used the rest of her gas to fly over to the Female Titan as fast as she could, but as she moved towards the Female Titan, both Titans turned around to face each other; Alex being in the middle of them. Eren's sea green eyes widened when he saw Alex alive flying, but they widened even more when the Female Titan grabbed Alex with her right hand, then in the speed of lightning she moved her left hand straight and fast and cut through the tree and Eren's head.

It all happened so fast, the Female Titan stretched the corners of her mouth opened and bit down on the nape of Eren's limp Titan body. There were snapping noises from the tendons connecting Eren's body to the Titan's breaking as the Female lifted Eren's weak and limp body out with her mouth. Alex's body was overheating in the Female Titan's hand, and she felt like if she made even the tiniest of moment, her bones would snap from the tight grip the Titan had on her bloodied body.

"Eren!" yelled a female voice. Alex's eyes snapped open; she recognized that voice. It was Mikasa; the second strongest girl in the 104 Trainees. Right before Mikasa's light coal eyes, the Female Titan shoved Eren into her mouth then ran off. Mikasa stayed there in the air, in shock after seeing Eren get eaten, and seeing Alex helplessly in the Titan's hand. She couldn't believe it.

Mikasa quickly got a hold of herself and narrowed her eyes in anger. As fast as she could, she caught up to the running girl Titan. She wasn't going to just let Eren die; and she owed Alex at least this much. She never got to thank Alex for giving her life to save Eren back at Trost, even though Alex lived through it, if she was a normal human being she would be dead. Mikasa shouted things at the Female Titan as she cut her cheek, then continued to cut other parts of the body.

Alex's eyes widened, "Mikasa! Cut her hand!"

Mikasa's gaze switched over to a blood covered Alex in the tight grip of the Female's right hand. Mikasa nodded and flew over there, cutting the Female's fingers off. Alex's body was released and sent down to the ground, but before she could fall to her death, Mikasa flew down and grabbed onto her small waist.

"Thanks, I owe you one," Alex said pulling out her swords. Mikasa glance over at her, "No. This is payback for trying to save Eren in Trost. I never got to thank you, so thank you." Alex blinked in surprised, but then nodded and got back to serious. "Okay, Eren's alive. This bitch went through all this trouble to capture both him and I, so she wouldn't just kill him and take him. For some reason she wasn't us alive, so she wouldn't be carrying him if he were dead. We need to get her down on the ground and cut through her hand. At the same time, we can try to cut her cheeks to make her jaw drop and let Eren out. Got it?" Alex asked.

"Got it," Mikasa confirmed then let go of Alex and flew down to the Female's back leg and cut through it causing the blonde Titan to fall onto her knees. Alex quickly shot her hook into a tree and went to cut the Titan's hand, but she moved and Alex only got to cut her arm. Mikasa took this as an advantage and went straight for her hand that is covering her nape, but the hand hardened and the only damage done was to Mikasa's blades.

"Why didn't my swords cut through it?!" Mikasa shouted at over at Alex who was hanging from the tree across from the one she was. "She can harden parts of her skin, but for only a small amount of time like me and my force field! See it's already disappearing!" Alex shouted back and pointed at the falling hardening skin with her sword. The Female Titan stood up and started running again, causing Mikasa to get mad.

"You go after her right now! I'm going to curve around and come from the side soon!" Alex ordered. Mikasa gave a small nod then went after the sprinting Titan. Alex watched as Mikasa followed the Female Titan further into the forest. She grunted at the pain in her abdomen, but quickly shook it off and detached herself from the tree. Right as she started moving, strong arms caught her and wrapped around her waist.

"What?" Alex asked surprised then looked up to see her captain.

"Stay back for now," Levi said looking down at her then letting her go. Alex and Levi flew by each other at a safe distance behind Mikasa and the Titan. "Maintain this distance. She must be worn out, too. She's not as fast anymore. It looked like she bit the entire nape off. Is Eren dead?" Levi asked beside Alex.

"No. She went through all this trouble to try and capture both of us. He's alive. I don't think she swallowed him," Alex explained side glancing at him. Levi nodded.

"That girl following her, isn't that his sister?" Levi questioned.

"Yeah. Adoptive sister. She was able to cut the Titan's fingers and free me," Alex explained watching as Mikasa continued to cut slices in the Female's body. Levi side glanced at Alex, noticing her bloody body.

"What happened to you?" He asked raising an eyebrow. The image of Eren's Titan fist punching her forcefully into the tree flashed before her eyes, but she shook her head.

"It's nothing. C'mon, we can't leave Mikasa to try to do this herself." And with that, both soldiers sped up without saying a word.


	27. Expedition (Part Five)

Alex's vision had become even blurrier as she and Levi kept a close distance away from the target and Mikasa. The bleeding had slowed down, but it still bled. Alex could tell she was going to have a nasty scar on her stomach. "I'm going to slice her up, tell Mikasa that you and her are to distract the target, got it?" Levi said breaking the intense silence. Alex gave a small nod and sped up to where she was right beside Mikasa.

"We have to distract her," Alex said bluntly not bothering to remove her blue eyes from the running Titan.

"Why?" Mikasa asked giving Alex a skeptical look.

"Orders from Captain Levi," Alex answered. She didn't feel the need to explain the whole plan; it would just be wasting time. Mikasa gave her nod, "I hope he knows what he's doing." Alex said nothing, but sped up to where she was in front of the Female Titan. Mikasa was on the other side, but by the Titan's feet. The target noticed Alex staring lazily into it's big blue eyes and reached out to grab her, but Alex quickly dodged it seeing that the Titan was becoming exhausted. The Titan's eyes moved away from the bored soldier in front of her went she heard the sound of gear moving right behind her. Alex glanced up to see Levi staring down at the blonde haired Titan with cold eyes.

The target tried to play it off that she didn't notice the soldier behind her and kept running while staring forward. "Hey, bitch. I thought you wanted me? I'm kind of offended that you aren't trying to grab my anymore," Alex said putting on a fake pout to make it look like she was emotionally hurt by this. The Titan's eyes glanced at her, but before it seemed like it was going to reach out an attempt to capture her again, Levi positioned his swords and was about to go for the nape, the target quickly spun around and threw a forceful punch at the captain.

But she didn't hit him; instead Levi moved with incredible speed you could only see the flash of his silver swords as he cut up the Titan's arm while quickly moving up it in the process. Before the Titan could react the situation, Levi jumped up and stabbed both of her eyes; blinding her. The now blinded Titan instantly covered the back of her next as Levi continued to move quickly down her body. He slashed the back of her knees, which caused her to fall back and lean up against one of the trees.

"He's quick," Mikasa said to Alex in disbelief.

"He's quick enough to where she can't toughen her skin fast enough," Alex agreed observing her focused captain. He continued to move at a quick pace, slashing her arm so that she couldn't cover her nape anymore. Just as planned; her arm fell, and made her nape exposed to the tree soldiers around her. Alex's eyes widened, as so did Mikasa's when they noticed her nape was vulnerable. The Titan's body was also exhausted, which only added more to their motivation to go for it.

But Alex thought quicker than Mikasa, and shot her iron hook into the Titan's shoulder. It was the perfect opportunity to kill the person responsible for her comrades death. No, Alex had not been attached to them in any way; she simply wouldn't allow that because if she had, all she'd be feeling at that moment was pain over her lost ones. The fact was - too many innocent lives were lost to this selfish Titan-Shifter.

And she was going to pay.

Alex readied her swords and then positioned them as she got closer to the target's nape. But all at the same time, the Titan's other arm slow lifted itself from the grass covered ground. Alex's eyes widened slightly when she noticed it.

"No!" Levi ordered, but it was already too late for Alex to move. But before the Titan's large hand could smash Alex's small body, Levi quickly pushed her out of the way. His ankle made a crack noise, and his face shriveled up in pain, but he quickly pushed it aside and went for the Titan's mouth. Moving slightly slower than he had before, Levi sliced both sides of the Titan's mouth, causing the jaw to fall and reveal a spit covered Eren.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouted when she noticed him. Levi quickly picked up the spit covered teenager and landed on a nearby branch.

"Let's get out of here!" Levi ordered looking at the two girls. Alex was still covered in crimson red, while Mikasa stared at Eren's limp body in disbelief. "Eren.." She repeated.

"He's probably okay. He's alive, but a mess. Don't go after her, we're retreating. Don't lose sight of the true goal of the mission. Or will you put your personal feeling first? Isn't he your precious friend?" Levi asked, directing the last few sentences towards Mikasa before using his gear to retreat and distance himself from the Female Titan. Mikasa looked down and mumbled something before following him, leaving Alex by herself. Alex turned around and looked at the Female Titan. Her eyes widening slightly when she noticed the large amount of water dripping from the Titan's blinded eyes.

"Why the fuck are you crying?!" Alex shouted at the Titan, but coughed up blood right after. Her mouth tasted of metal, and her teeth were stained with red. She took once last glance at the crying Titan before letting it go and following the other two soldiers.

Alex's eyes slowly opened, only to close immediately to the blinding light in front of her. She went the sit up, but only groaned and laid back down from the pain in her stomach. "Don't me moving around," a deep voice said beside her. Alex frowned, not being able to look at the man. "Who are you? And why? What happened?" Alex questioned, obviously confused about the situation.

"Tch. Who do you think, brat?" The voice said and Alex could practically hear him rolling his eyes. Of course, it was none other than Captain Levi. "You passed out from blood loss while we were on our way to the rest of the group, and I had to carry you back. And damn, you are not light," Levi said rudely. Alex rolled her eyes underneath her eyelids.

"You're taller than me, so you weigh more," Alex smirked only to receive a glare from her captain. "You smell terrible," Levi scoffed, changing the subject. Alex shrugged her shoulders, and finally was able to open her eyes to the bright light caused by the sun. She blinked a few times before her vision was back to normal, and she could see the usual emotionless captain.

"You don't smell all so good either, so you have no room to speak," Alex sneered and sat up. The pain her in stomach only increase when she did that, and she groaned inwardly. "Idiot, I told you not to move!" Levi scolded pushing her shoulders back down. "Don't touch me," Alex growled slapping his cold hands away. Levi narrowed his eyes at the injured girl, "I don't take orders from annoying brats."

"There are fewer of them then there was this morning."

The sound of people whispering among themselves caused Alex to wake up. She had guessed she fell back to sleep from the lack of blood - again.

"A lot less."

Alex lifted her head up slightly to see they were back inside the walls. There were people whispering and pointing as the scarred soldiers walked past them slowly. Some of the soldiers just stared forward with wide eyes, obviously still affected by the bloody deaths of their comrades. Many of the soldiers were injured, or at least had a good amount of blood on them.

"This one ended badly."

Alex sat up slowly, gasping at the pain. She lifted a hand to her head, and felt a wet bandaged wrapped around it. She frowned and pulled her hand down, only to see that her fingers were now stained with red.

"They left this morning cheering, but they're already back."

She then looked down at the rest of her body, it was covered by someone else's forest green Survey Corps cape. She slowly lifted the part that covered her chest and peered down the darkened area.

"What'd they go for, anyway?"

Her usual clean and stainless uniform was now covered in her dried blood. Her shirt was ripped open, revealing her whole chest and stomach. There were thick layers of bloodied bandages wrapped around her stomach, but even with that much, she bled through them.

"It's anyone's guess.. But judging by the grim looks on their faces, I'd say they succeeded in throwing our taxed in the gutter."

Alex ignored the crowds harsh words and slowly pealed the tightly wrapped bandages off her injured body. When she did, she was the large mess of blood that Eren had caused when he was in Titan form. It was deep; really deep. No wonder she kept passing out from blood loss, this gash would've been an buffet for mosquitoes and vampires. Alex sighed and laid back down and looked up at the peaceful blue sky.

"This is going to leave a nasty scar."


	28. The Reveal of the Female Titan

"They're late. What's keeping Erwin and the others? They'll let the Military Police beat them here," Levi said then took a sip of his black tea, "I'll bet his constipation is acting up again."

Eren let out a small laugh at the comment. Alex, Eren, and Levi were all waiting at the usual wooden table that got to listen in on all the important conversations of the Scout Regiment. Levi was surprisingly wearing normal cloths - a gray shirt with baggy pants. He had badly sprained his ankle from pushing Alex out of the way, so he was unable to do much except paperwork that Erwin gave to him. Alex and Eren were both in their uniforms - Alex had gotten a new one since hers was beyond saving from the mess of blood on it. She still had many bandages wrapped around her stomach, and she was told she had to change them every night before she went to bed. She was also supposed to take it slow, and not do much moving. She was especially supposed to take at least a week off from training. Alex wouldn't admit it, but every time she turned it hurt at least a little bit. She hadn't told anyone what had happened to receive the deep wound, because they would most likely kill Eren for harming another human.

"Captain, you're quite talkative today," Eren said sort of surprised by Levi's unnatural behavior. Eren had been avoiding any contact with Alex as much as he could for the past few days. After what had happened outside the walls, he couldn't bring himself to look at her. He knew she was in pain - he was just surprised he didn't actually kill her that day. His punch was powerful, 'cause it had been intended for the Female Titan. But no - he had hit Alex instead. He felt bad about it, and his guilt had been eating him away.

"Don't be stupid. I've always been talkative," Levi said then rubbed his leg, "Damn." Not only had his ankle been sprained badly, but the rest of his leg wasn't the best either. There was internal bruising from the ankle and up.

"I'm sorry. If I hadn't screwed up that time, you wouldn't be.." Eren trailed off looking down at the table.

"I've told you before, no one knows how things will turn out," Levi said glancing over at Alex. Alex felt his eyes on her and turned her head. Their eyes met for a second, before Levi looked down at his tea. "You shouldn't have done that," Alex said bluntly. Levi raised his thin black eyebrows and gave her a questioning look, "Done what?"

"Pushed my out of the way. Cheating death only makes it worse," Alex said with sigh. In all honesty, she wouldn't have cared if she died that day. She would be with her parents and Elisa again. She didn't have any friends on Earth - so no one would miss her anyways. Levi opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly cut off when the wooden door creaked.

"Sorry I'm late," Erwin said closing the door.

"Not at all.." Eren started to say but noticed his friend, "Why're you guys..?"

"We found someone we believe is the Female Titan," Erwin explained causing Eren to gasp and Alex to look up, "This time, we'll capture her without fail."

Erwin and the other soldiers sat down at the table. "We'll carry out the operation the day after next as we pass though Stohess District on our way to our appearance in the capital. It'll be our first and only opportunity. If we fail, Eren and Alex will be handed over to the authorities, making it difficult to pursue the ones who are plotting to destroy the wall. It could even increase the likelihood of humankind's annihilation. We will stake everything on this operation."

Erwin looked over at Alex and Eren - who sat next to each other but had said nothing to each other at all - waiting for an answer. They both gave him a small nod. "The operation will go like this. Eren and Alex will act as the decoys as we're passing through Stohess District to lead the target to this underground passageway. Once drawing inside, the limited space and strong walls will allow us to contain the target even if she transforms into a Titan. But in the unlikely chance she turns into a Titan before that, we'll have to rely on you, Eren," Erwin explained.

"Yes, sir. Are we certain our target is in Stohess District?" Eren asked.

"Yes. Our target is a member of the Military Police," Erwin said.

"The Military Police?" Eren questioned with a confused look.

"Armin is the one who figured it out. We believe the Female Titan is the one who killed the three captured Titans. Possibly a member of your 104th Cadet Class," Erwin said, narrowing his blue eyes. Alex's eyes widened slightly once the words left his mouth. The only person who had joined the Military Police was Annie. And thinking back on it, the Female Titan had resembled Annie physically and mentally. It had the same short, straight blonde hair and big blue eyes. And the way she fought - Alex had sparred with her, and she had been surprised at the tricks the female had up her sleeves.

"Annie.." Alex mumbled, but Eren had heard it. Eren's eyes widened, "W-Wait! Hold on! Annie Leonhart? Alex you're going crazy Annie would never-"

Alex turned her cold gaze and locked eyes with Eren's surprised one. His gaze softened and he looked down, "Annie is the Female Titan? Why.. Why do you guys think that?"

"The Female Titan recognized your faces from the beginning. And, she responded to that reference as the one who'll 'die too soon' only something our fellow cadets would understand. And even more convincing is that Annie is suspected in killing the three test subjects Sawney, Bean, and Edgar," Armin explained.

"How do you know that?" Eren asked.

"Killing the three Titans required high-level technique, so she would have used her own 3D Device which she was familiar with," Armin said. Eren looked away, "Right. That's why did an inspection of the equipment. But Annie didn't get caught."

"Annie submitted Marco's for inspection. That's how she avoided scrutiny," Armin explained.

"Huh? What're you talking about? How is Marco involved in this?" Eren questioned.

"I don't know," Armin trailed off looking down at the table.

"You must've been mistaken," Eren said, obviously not wanting to believe it.

"No, that was definitely-"

"Hey kid, we get that part. Don't you have any other reasons?" Levi asked interrupting him.

"I don't."

"Annie looks like the female," Alex stated bluntly. Eren stood up from his seat and stared down at her, "Huh?! What're you talking about?! That's not enough to-" Eren was cut off by Alex standing up and grabbing him by the shirt, and lifting his taller body off the ground.

"You fought her, didn't you? I know it, cause I saw it. I was there, if you don't remember," Alex started. Eren gulped and looked away, remembering how he had hit her during the fight with him and the other Titan. "You saw the way she fought. You can't tell me that you didn't notice how similar the moves were. You've fought Annie before, don't tell me they're not the same. They fight the same, they look the same. You realize it, right? You know that Annie is the Female Titan. Then you know that you have to fight her, right? Or do you have a small crush on her, and won't be able to do it?"

Eren stared at her, his mind flashing back to the Female Titan's technique's. He blinked and let out a sigh.

"I'll do it."


	29. Fight with the Female Titan (Part One)

"We got through surprisingly easily.." Eren trailed off, only to be shushed by Mikasa. The five teenagers walked down the empty street. Four of them - Alex, Armin, Eren and Mikasa - wore green raincoats that hid their gear, and a small brown backpack over their shoulders. Annie was the only one in a uniform; but that was alright. She was Military Police - she had no reason to hide anything. Armin had successfully gotten Annie to go along with the plan and 'help' them escape.

"Let's just hope they don't notice Jean and Sabrina took our places. That definitely won't last for long. He and I look nothing alike, and her and Alex don't really either," Eren said. Jean had taken Eren's place, only having to put on a brunette wig. Sabrina was another soldier, Alex had only met her when they talked about the plan. She was short enough to disguise as Alex, and had somewhat similar blue eyes. All she had to so was put on a black wig.

"It'll be fine," Armin assured looking back at the doubtful boy, "You and Jean both have the same sort of mean, nasty look to you. And Sabrina does a good bored yet intimidating look that Alex has. No offense."

"I don't have his horseface!" Eren exclaimed. "Just shut the fuck up, damn." Alex said, obviously annoyed about his complaining. "Say.. How were you planning to get over the wall if I hadn't agreed to help?" Annie asked looking back at the group.

"We were going to barge through using our gear," Armin said, quickly thinking of something. Leave it up to the smart one to think of something somewhat reasonable.

'That's crazy. Couldn't you have just escaped before reaching Stohess to avoid all this trouble in the first place? Why'd it have to be here and now?" Annie questioned. Alex eyed the blonde who walked in front of here. "Is she suspecting..?" Alex thought with a frown. All the walking she had been doing lately has really done a number on her injured stomach. Despite what the doctor had said, she was still moving around a lot.

"I felt this town's complex layout would make our body double ploy more likely to succeed. Plus, acting dutifully and keeping their defenses down will buy us far more time to escape than head-on opposition would," Armin explained. Annie looked forward, "I see. Good point."

"Oh! Over here," Armin exclaimed running over to the abandoned tunnel entrance. The rest followed behind him.

"Here?" Annie asked looking down at the dark underground tunnel.

"Yeah. We're going through here. It's what left of an underground city they were planning to make. It leads to the vicinity of the outer gate," Armin explained as him, Alex, Eren, and Mikasa walked down the dusty steps.

"Really? That's amazing," Eren stopped and turned around to see Annie still standing at the top of the steps, "Annie? Oh, man. Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark, cramped places or something."

"Yes, I am. I doubt a brave, suicidal maniac like you would understand how a delicate damsel feels," Annie said. Alex snorted, "Any damsel who can flip a grown man twice her size upside down isn't delicate at all. Shut up, and hurry!" Alex's face went back to being serious and cold as she turned to walk down the steps again.

"No. I'm not going. I'm afraid to go down there. I'm not helping unless we stay above ground," Annie said not bothering to move.

"Quit being stupid! Just get down here! Stop screwing around!" Eren shouted at her.

"Eren! Don't shout!" Mikasa scolded staring at the brunette.

"I'm sure it's fine, Mikasa. Because, for some reason, this whole area has been completely deserted for awhile now," Annie said and Alex knew she had caught on. She wasn't stupid - if she was, she wouldn't have graduated in the top ten. Annie was smart, and skilled. Alex wasn't surprised if she knew something was up.

"Man.. That really hurts. At what point did you start looking at me that way.. Armin?" Annie asked. Armin was hiding the flare behind his coat, and his hand was shaking from nervousness.

"Annie.. Why did you have Marco's gear? It had all the same scrapes and bumps. I could tell, because I'd helped him maintenance on it," Armin said staring up at the blonde.

"Yes. I found it and took it," Annie confessed.

"Then, those three Titans we captured alive.. Was it you who killed them?" Armin asked.

"Who knows. But if that's what you suspected one month ago, why didn't you say anything then?" Annie asked, still looking away from the group of four. Alex was staring daggers at her, while Mikasa was glaring.

"Even now I can hardly believe it. I just wanted to believe I had it all wrong. That's why I didn't.." Armin trailed off and looked down with gritted teeth, "Still.. Back then, the fact you didn't kill me is why we're in this situation now."

Annie let out a breath as the wind blew in her blonde hair. "Yeah, I agree with all my heart. I never imagined you'd end up cornering me like this. Why didn't I do anything then?" Annie said, mumbling the last part to herself.

"Hold on, Annie! There's still a chance you're going along with all this as part of some horrible, idiotic joke! Just get down here! There's something you can prove just by coming down here! Just come down here and prove it!" Eren shouted walking up a couple of steps.

"I can't go down there. I'm a failed warrior," Annie said looking down.

"I'm being serious here! This isn't funny!" Eren shouted, obviously still not wanting to believe it.

"Talk to us, Annie! We can still discuss this as-"

"I'm tired of listening to this shit," Alex said coldly ripping off her coat. Mikasa followed along and did the same, then pulled out one of her blades; ready to attack.

"It's pointless," Mikasa agreed glaring at Annie.

"We're going to carve you up again, Female Titan," Alex said, pulling out both of her swords. Annie closed her eyes and looked down, then did something none of them expected.

Laughed.

They all stared at her with anger as she continued to laugh. "Armin.. It's nice I could be a 'good person' for you. For now, you've won your bet. But.. my bet, begins now!" Annie said with a grin on her face then brought her hand to her mouth to bite on it. Immediately, Armin pulled out the flare gun and shot it past the crazy blonde. As soon as he pulled the trigger, disguised soldiers came running at Annie, grabbing her hands and feet then putting a gag over her mouth.

Eren gasped, about to run up the stairs but Mikasa put a hand to his face, "Eren!"

Alex looked over at the struggling blonde, but her eyes traveled to her silver ring. A small, but sharp enough needle shot out of it, and Alex knew that was just what Annie need to transform. Alex's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed a hold of the back of Armin's coat then pulled him down the flight of stairs just as Mikasa did with Eren. Both boys shouted out the names of the girls in surprise and question.

"It's too late, she had a ring with a needle in it," Alex explained just as Annie cut herself and caused the soldiers around her to fly in the air and scream out. A bright flash of lightning filled the darkness only for a second before disappearing. A loud explosion followed right after the bright light, they all knew she had transformed.

The front of the tunnel was now splattered with the blood of the innocent, and there was a dead body buried beneath the rubble. Both Eren and Armin stared at it with wide eyes while Mikasa and Alex looked away unfazed. "Oh my god!" Armin said looking at the limp body. Right after he said that, a large hand smashed into one of the walls in the tunnel. The four Survey Corps soldiers quickly reacted and started running away from it as it moved around the corner and tried reaching for them.

"Damn! That ring! She saw through my ruse form the start! She knew this was an ambush all along! There had to be some other way!" Armin shouted.

"Save your sorrowful regrets for when this is over. Annie is a traitorous bitch, and there's nothing we can do about it," Alex said coldly and bluntly, but truthfully.

"What do we do now?" Mikasa asked looking at Armin for an answer.

"We must join up with Squad Three and get up above ground. After that, it's Plan Two. We fight Annie, the Female Titan. Eren, we need you to turn into a Titan as planned and help us capture her. And Alex, stay close to Eren but far enough so you won't get smashed and use your shield when it's an emergency or really important. I know it doesn't stay up for long, and that it uses a lot of your energy, so that's why I'm saying you should only use it when absolutely needed. You guys can do that, right?" Armin asked looking at the two abnormal teenagers for an answer.

"Yeah," they both said together.

"Hey!"

They all looked up to see a member from Squad Three. "It's Squad Three!" Armin shouted, pointing out the obvious.

"The first capture plan failed?!" The man asked putting his hand down. "It failed! Please proceed to Plan Two!" Armin shouted, but quickly stopped running towards the man and gasped as Annie's large Titan foot came down on Squad Three and crushed them. The rest of the group stopped running and braced themselves for the strong wind that blew inside the tunnel.

"She stomped right through?" Armin asked as the dust cleared up and Annie lifted up her foot. "We have to rescue them!" Eren shouted and went to walk over to the rubble. "Eren! Stay back," Mikasa ordered grabbing his hood and pulling him back.

"They're already dead. There's no point in trying to save them," Alex said walking away from the rubble. "That damn female.. She'd let Alex and Eren die?!" Mikasa asked angrily.

"She gambled. She opened a hole, gambling that they wouldn't be killed. It's a reckless move, but it makes her more dangerous," Armin explained and started running again, "Annie will stop at nothing to take Alex and Eren away!"

The group of four slowed down and squatted in the middle of the two holes to discuss a plan. "She'll attack us the moment we try to use our gear to zoom out. But unless we do-" He was cut off by another loud sound from their left and a lot of dust, she had gambled again.

"She'll crush us if we stay in here," Alex finished for him. Eren stood up, "I'll get you guys out! Like the time I stopped the cannon! Follow me!"

Eren grabbed the three of them and pulled them close to him. Alex rolled her eyes and glared at him for touching her. "Stay close!" Eren ordered then bit his hand. Blood spattered out of it, but nothing happened. Eren let out sounds of pain and tried to bite harder, "Come on! Not again!" Eren dropped to his knees and put his hands on his head, "Dammit! Not now!"

"You can't turn into a Titan without a clear objective. Try again with a powerful image in your mind," Armin suggested looking at Eren with concern. "I'm trying, but.." Eren stopped mid-sentence and tried biting into his hand again, only to create more blood and pain.

"Are you really? You still can't believe that Annie is actually the Titan that kill all our comrades? And that's holding you back from fighting the bitch, right? What did you just see before your eyes? Hm?" Alex asked in a low voice. Eren frowned, "Shut up! I'm doing my best!" Another bite, but only more blood.

"I have a plan," Armin said, pulling out his swords, "Mikasa and I will go out simultaneously. From that hole and the front entrance. Annie will react to one or the other. When she does, you two escape from the other way." Armin pulled his hood up and went to run out. "Wait! That means one of you is going to die!" Eren shouted.

"If we stay here, all four of us are going to die!" Armin argued. "Mikasa! Take position!"

"Okay, I'll take the front!"

Both soldiers started running in opposite directions, "Mikasa! Armin! How are you able to fight?!"

"They don't have a fucking choice Eren. Now man up!" Alex spat at him. He was honestly getting on her nerves - he just didn't understand the situation. "You can't save everyone," Alex's voice calmed down and she stared at the brick wall. Eren stared at her with wide eyes.

"And you should know that. Now c'mon," Alex's voice was back to it's cold and demanding self.

But before either of them could react, a crash came coming down from right above them.


	30. Fight with the Female Titan (Part Two)

Both Alex and Eren were crushed underneath the heavy rubble of the tunnel. Alex's gash on her stomach had opened back up, causing lots of pain and blood to flow out of her body. There was also another large scratch on her left arm, it too was bleeding badly. Alex couldn't move; the weight of the broken concrete overpowered her. She also couldn't twist her ring because her hand was trapped underneath a large brick.

"Eren! Alex!"

The voice brought Alex out of her daze, and she looked over to see a concerned Armin. Armin spotted her first, "I'll get you out!" Alex shook her head and coughed up blood. "Get him out first," she insisted hoarsely. Her voice was drained, and the back of her throat throbbed. Her Bellerose blood pounded in her eyes, making it hard to understand what Armin was shouting at Eren, who was only feet away from Alex's crushed body.

Alex looked over and saw that Armin had lifted the large piece of concrete that was holding Eren down. "Eren! Say something!" Armin cried. Alex could barely see what was happening, the lack of blood made her vision slightly blurry.

"Hey! What's going on?"

"Jean! Eren and Alex are both buried over here!"

"What?! Wasn't the plan for his to turn into a Titan and her to protect him?"

"He couldn't do it. Alex was ready at any moment though. The fact that the Female was Annie probably held him back."

"What?"

The voices started getting quieter, and quieter to the point were it sounded like small squeaks of a mouse. Alex blinked the blood of her eyes and stared blankly at the blue sky. The sky was just as blue as that day, that day were she left Elisa alone to see what was happened. That day were she let Elisa get crushed underneath the small house of theirs. That day were she had watch Elisa get eaten alive before her very eyes, and she couldn't do anything to stop it.

That day she got that rose filled with hope and love.

Alex didn't know what changed in her body, but suddenly she was able to deal with the pain. It didn't hurt as much as it had just seconds ago - no, it barely hurt at all. Alex's eyes were now blazing with blue that it almost looked like someone had made a strange fire in them. Her pupils weren't just plain ovals anymore; it was like they were skinny stars. There was a slim slit going horizontal, and there was another slim slit going vertical that overlapped the other. But Alex didn't feel any of it.

Armin's attention quickly flickered from Eren to Alex as Alex somehow was able to push the heavy weight off of her and stand up. His eyes widened when they met Alex's flaming ones. Blood flowed out of her body; but she didn't seem to mind at all. Her face was blank as always, but there was something different about it. Something Armin has never seen on it. He could describe it, but before he could say or do anything about it, he ran over to the Female Titan.

Alex walked over to Eren's limp body that was held under the heavy weight of rubble. He slowly turned his head when he heard the sound of footsteps, and his sea green eyes locked with Alex's fiery blue ones. He couldn't look away either; it was like he was in a trance. He wanted to stare at them forever, and didn't want to look away.

"Eren. Change."

Her voice was soothing and calm; it was different. But almost as soon as those two words left her mouth, a bright light was lightning shook the floors of Sina - Eren had changed into his Titan form. As his Titan parts connected to his original body, Alex jumped onto the forming shoulder. Once Eren was completely transformed, he looked over at all to see not only was her eyes blazing with blue flames, but so was her ring.

Alex turned her head and faced Eren's Titan one, and looked into his eyes again. "Get in a running position then charge straight ahead. She's basically right in front of us," Alex's soothing voice ordered, and Eren reluctantly obeyed. Eren charged towards Annie, and ended up knocking her into the building that the 'Wall Religion' people prayed in.

"Go again. She's distracted."

Eren charged at the distracted Titan who was looking at the dead bodies under her hands, but when Annie heard Eren's Titan growl, she came back to her senses and started running towards the wall. Eren chased Annie down the brick road, while Alex just stood there on his shoulder with a bored expression. Any other human would've fallen off of his shoulder by now, at the position his was in and the angle his shoulder was, but she wasn't an ordinary human - as if that wasn't already obvious enough.

"Faster."

Eren's pace got faster, and he was gaining up on Annie quickly. But instead of running towards the wall, Annie made a sharp turn towards flatter and more open land. Annie quickly stopped herself and turned around to face Eren and Alex. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw the blazing blue fire of Alex's ring and eyes. Alex quickly jumped - yes, jumped by not using her gear - to the point of one of the buildings that surrounded them. Somehow, she balanced perfectly on the small point, but it gave her a front row view of the fight that was about to happen.

Annie got in position; her arms lifted and ready to go. Eren went first, but Annie quickly hardened her elbow and was able to block it. Annie then tried to kick him, but Eren grabbed onto her leg and threw her over the many rows of houses. Before Eren went charging threw the many houses, Alex resumed her spot on his shoulder.

Eren went charging towards Annie again, and they continued fighting. Alex leaped off Eren's shoulder and onto one of the houses. The fight continued to do the same; Eren would try something, but then Annie could hardened her skin and gave the blow instead. But the last move was different, Annie hardened her shin and kicked Eren in the head, but to Annie's surprise, Eren bit onto the hardened skin. Alex quickly moved over to Eren and landed on top of his messy brown Titan hair and provided the shield. Anne's face flashed with confusion, and she hardened her fist and tried pounding on the shield.

It was like her hardened skin - but black instead of crystal blue. It confused Annie nonetheless, but she continued trying to get through it.

"Look Eren, this thing isn't going to last much longer. It's bigger than the ones I've made in the past, so I'm not sure how long it's going to hold. But Annie is most likely going to bash your skull with her hardening skin. It's going to hurt, but remember; she won't let you die. For some reason, she need both of us - alive. So prepare for pain, but don't give up. And I will repeat that to you as many times as I have to," Alex said as her shield started to flicker. Eren's eyes stared at her as she moved away with grace, and the protective shield that ones surrounded him was gone.

Just like Alex had predicted, Annie smashed her hardened fist into Eren's skull. She did it repetitively, and let out frustrated growls while doing so. And once she felt that Eren was unable to move, she ran. Alex's eyes watched Annie run away, but only for a second. Alex jumped back down on Eren's now beat-in skull.

"Get up. You can't give up now. You probably won't be able to catch her by being your usual Titan self, so think really hard, Eren. She had the ability to harden her skin, the Colossal has the ability to be over fifty-meters tall, and the Armored has the ability to have hardened skin all over it's body. You probably have something too. Think, Eren, think. Think about all the things she done to you. All the things they have done to you," Alex said. Eren's eyes flashed with bright blue before he stood up. His body changed - it was now coal black with hot fire coming out of it. His eyes were no longer sea green; they were bright blue like Alex's were.

Her charged towards her, taking Annie by surprise. They fought, but this time Eren was overpowering her. He had his hand basically popping out her eyeballs and messing up her face. The nearby soldiers stared in shock, but Alex stare with amusement. Alex landed on the building next to Hanji, taking her by surprise. Hanji gasped and looked at Alex with thirsty eyes.

"A-Alex! Your-"

Alex cut her off by jumping to the ground and running towards the fight. Annie made a break towards the wall, and was now attempting the climb over it. Eren was hanging from her legs, but Annie hardened her toes and kicked him off of her. Alex was angry and she used her gear to climb up the wall. She landed gracefully on Annie's hands and stared down at her with a blank face.

"I never liked you anyways, bitch."

It would've seemed like Alex had used her swords to cut Annie's fingers, but no. It wasn't. It was like they broke on their own will. Annie's eyes widened as she plummeted to her worst nightmare. As soon as she landed on the ground, Eren pounced on her like a cat to a mouse. Alex landed soundlessly on the ground as soon as Eren ripped the flesh off of the nape. Alex stared in disgust when she was the tears fall from Annie's sleeping body.

But then everything flashed blue. Eren's screamed out in pain, and Alex watched before her very eyes as Annie covered herself with the crystal like skin. Before Eren could do anything now that we was out of control, Levi cut open the nape and dragged him out. Alex's body couldn't take it anymore - it had lost lots of blood, and the power she withheld was starting to eat her from the inside.

The blue flames died down, and she collapsed.

Alex's eyes fluttered open and she gasped. The pain was unbearable, and her head pounded not stop. "What happened?" Alex groaned to herself, and put a hand on her forehead.

"You passed out," a bored voice answered her. Alex blinked and looked over to her left to see Jean pounding on something with a broken sword while shouting at it. Then it all came back to her - Annie shifting, her body getting up from the rubble, demanding Eren to change, Eren and Annie fighting, Annie trying to escape, her cutting Annie's fingers without lifting a finger, Eren attacking Annie once she fell, and then Annie covering herself with that crystal hardening skin stuff.

"What's going to happen now?" Alex asked looking back at the sky. It was so peaceful.

"Not sure. But it looks like we're in the clear," Levi said, also looking up at the sky.

"I guess Annie's still stuck in there?" Eren asked sitting up. Both him and Alex passed out from exhaustion, and were now on the two beds in the infirmary. Mikasa, Armin, and Jean were all there.

"Yeah," Mikasa answered.

"Damn.. That big of an operation, all for nothin'," Jean mumbled angrily.

"Annie went that far to keep her information safe," Armin sighed.

"Yeah. She slipped right through our fingers."

"Eren let her get away. Isn't that right Eren? If it hadn't been for the brief moment.."

"Yeah. It's true. I screwed up. I froze as soon as I saw her," Eren said looking down with sadness.

"It's kind of a buzz kill if you think about it," Alex spoke up while looking up at the ceiling. All eyes blinked then traveled to her.

"Alex.. You kind of freaked me out when you went all.." Armin trailed off truthfully. Alex sighed. "I know. I freaked myself out too. So many questions.."

"Armin Arlert. Jean Kirschtein. You're wanted for debriefing." A man said, reading off of a list clicked to a clipboard.

"Right."

"I guess we're first."

Alex blocked out Mikasa's and Eren's conversation until she left. Alex sighed and rubbed her eyes.

"What's going to happen now?"


	31. Elisa's Birthday

Alex sat alone in the dark mess hall at the wooden table. It was night and everyone was asleep by now. Alex sighed. Today was Elisa's birthday. She would be fourteen today. Fourteen. Alex sighed once again and took a swig out of the bottle of alcohol. It has been a week since the whole Annie incident. Everyone was still angry and upset about what the outcome was. They also had many questions for both Alex and Eren - but mainly Alex. Hanji's questions towards Eren were mainly about how his Titan form turned black and fiery. But the questions towards Alex were overwhelming. Alex couldn't answer all of them; she could barely answer any of them. She herself was still confused about the whole deal. But Commander Erwin decided to give them time to heal before having to answer all of Hanji's questions.

That time off would end tomorrow, so Alex had no choice but to answer all of Hanji's crazy questions all day. The injury on Alex's stomach was still pretty bad, but it had gotten slightly better. No by much though. It hurt a lot less, but still hurt depending on how she moved with it. Eren was all better - all thanks to his Titan powers, he healed within a day or two. That was one thing Alex was jealous of.

He got to heal faster and barely had to deal with all the pain caused by his injuries. It was unfair. But yet again, the world is unfair. Alex has been depressed all day, but she easily hid it. It wasn't like anyone would care anyways - they all had lost someone. Hell, Levi lost basically his whole squad a few weeks ago on the expedition.

Alex groaned inwardly and took another swig. No wonder all those Military Police brats like this stuff - it numb most of the pain, and made the worries and fears wash away as long as the numbness stayed. Alex laughed to herself. What if she became a drunk? No, she couldn't. That'd just show weakness, and only prove that she wasn't strong.

Even after all the shit she's been through - raising her sister on her own, watching her sister die, getting eaten alive by a Titan then cutting herself out of it's stomach, getting a cannon shell fired at her, discovering her strange force field power from her ring, getting cuffed up like a monster, put on trial for life or death, watching her comrades die right before her, getting almost smashed to death by Annie, discovering even more of her power, and now she was pitying herself with a bottle of Jack.

She honestly didn't care anymore - it's not like she had much to live for. No family, no friends. The only person that she actually care slightly about was Ivan. But the last time she talked to him was after graduation, the day Trost was invaded by Titans. He could be dead now. She didn't know. And she probably wouldn't know either.

Elisa would be fourteen by now. A teenager. She could be so close to graduating the Cadets. She could be joining the Survey Corps within this year, and be right beside Alex. Elisa also had a family ring, but Alex had no doubt that it was either buried underneath the mess in her home town, or still in the Titan's stomach somewhere. Maybe it melted from the extreme heat inside of the Titan. It wasn't on Elisa's body when they pulled it out.

When they pulled it out.

Alex frowned remembering that day. It was terrible. She felt angry then - at herself. But now? Just sad. Full of sorrow, and for what?

Herself.

To her, she didn't deserve it. Many innocent lives were lost last week during the fight inside the walls. They didn't even know what was happening at the time. They weren't aware. And they died, all for what?

A crystal covered Annie, who obviously can't answer any of their many questions.

It was a wreak - Alex was a wreak. Her face was red and puffy from crying earlier. Good thing she didn't wear make-up - not that she would want to either - because she'd probably just look like a sad clown with black streaks of mascara and eyeliner down her cheeks. Alex laughed quietly from imagining that.

"Cadet Bellerose, what are you still doing up?"

Alex didn't bother lifter her head up or turning around to see who the voice belonged to. It was obvious; nobody else had that same cold, up front voice that Captain Levi did. Alex didn't say anything, just looked down at the shriveled white rose and held onto the alcohol-filled bottle in her right hand.

Levi, not liking that she didn't give him an answer, walked over to the table and stood directly behind her. "Cadet Bellerose," He said again, louder and colder. Still, no response. Alex just stared down at the rose with a blank face. She didn't know what to feel at the moment - sadness? sorrow? anger? Probably a mixture of all.

But her face remained blank, and her voice didn't dare to speak because it feared it would crack. Levi rolled his eyes at the girl's stubbornness and sat down across from her in one of the wooden chairs. He glared at her when he noticed the bottle of Jack in her possession.

"How did she even find it?" Levi wondered. All the alcohol was hidden safely for the superiors. Not that any them really drink any of it, most of them are busy with their duties to take a break and have a drink. That's why it surprised him that Alex had found it. But he probably shouldn't - Alex was a smart girl. It wouldn't be that hard to find something like this.

"Why do you have alcohol?" Levi asked with a bored tone. He would most likely punish her for drinking at a young age, she was almost of age but still wasn't, and for stealing the higher ups stuff.

"You know, it was my fault," Alex spoke up. Her voice sounded drained and tired, and her words slightly slurred together. Levi raised an eyebrow in amusement, but didn't say anything. He just leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, waiting for her to continue.

"It was all my fault. Damn, I'm so stupid," She continued and put her hand in her hands and sighed. Levi wondered what she was talking about - what happened on the expedition, what happened in Wall Sina, or something personal? He didn't know, but he was interested to find out. Alex lifted her head from her hands and stared into Levi's dull blue eyes. His eyes observed her face; red, slightly puffy, and blank.

"Are you talking about what happened on the expedition?" Levi questioned. Alex shook her head. "No, that wasn't my fault. There was simply nothing that could've been done to prevent that." Alex said truthfully. Levi nodded in agreement, there really wasn't anything that could have prevented the outcome of the situation.

"Then are you talking about what happened earlier this week?" Levi tried again. It was strange for him to show that he was curious. Must less talk one on one with a soldier without insulting them or smacking them.

"No," Alex sighed then pressed her lips against the bottle and tipped her head back, allowing the burning alcohol to slide down her throat. Levi knew he should probably take that away from her and stop her, but he was curious about what she had to say.

"You know how they pulled out my sister's body?" Alex asked, setting down the bottle then playing with the rose Levi just noticed. Levi nodded. "Well, it's my fault she was in there in the first place." Alex twirled the rose around in a full circle then looked up at Levi.

"You see, she sprained her ankle when the ground shook," She started then set down the rose, "and I told her to stay put so I could go see what happened. I left her there. All by herself and defenseless. It should've been me there, not her."

Levi could see the tears weld up in her eyes, threatening to spill any second. "The Titans came in - it all just happened so fast that by the time I came back for her, she was buried under our house. I tired pulling her out, but I was too weak. It was useless. I was useless," Alex paused to take another drink, "I kept trying though. Then that Titan - that stupid, ugly Titan showed up. Elisa noticed it, but she didn't panic. Instead, she told me to go. To run. To live. And she gave me this."

Alex held up the old rose and laughed slightly. "She had actually stole it earlier that day from one of our neighbor's garden. The old lady even threatened us. But Elisa gave it to me and we put it in a vase then went to see the Scout Regiment return." Alex stopped and set the rose back down on the table. "While we were walking back home, she said she wanted to join the Scouts, to be like our dad. She never even got to meet him, he died before she was born. But our mother would tell us wonderful stories of him. I told her if anything, she should joined the Military Police to be like our mother. But she said she wanted to see the outside world."

Alex looked down and chuckled, "She always went through with her plans after her mind was set. That's why I joined the Scout Regiment. In her honor." Alex sighed and looked up to see Levi's reaction. He still held that same emotionless face, but his eyes shined with amusement of the story.

"She never got to join though. Instead, I had to watch her get eaten alive. You know what her last words to me were?" Alex asked, by now she was on the brink of crying. It was either her weak self, or the liquor. She didn't know - it could be both.

"'I'll see you on the other side, Sissy.' She would always call me Sissy, unless she was mad or scared." By now, Alex could hold it in anymore. It could just be the liquor taking control of her emotions and words, but a few tears slipped out of her eyes. Alex didn't even know why she was telling him this. She hasn't told anyone about what happened. Maybe it was because she was drunk and couldn't control her words, she didn't know. Everything was numb to her.

"She had the same ring as me," Alex held up her hand and showed him her family ring, "and sometimes I wonder if she would have the same powers as me. If she would have to do all this stuff too." Alex sighed and rested her head on her hand. "Today's actually her birthday. She'd would be fourteen," Alex explained then took another drink.

"She would be so close to graduating. I have no doubt that she's be in the top ten - not five at least. Everyone in our family has either place one or two," Alex moved her head to her other hand, "She would be so jealous that I got to join the Scout Regiment first. But she would be happy at the same time and say she couldn't wait until she could join and be by my side."

Alex stopped and looked up at Levi, who still had an emotionless face. "Do you miss your squad?" She questioned. Levi was taken back by her sudden question. "Of course. They were good soldiers," Levi said. Alex shook her head, "Like miss them. I'm sure you guys were close." It was obvious she was trying to break him, see if he regretted leaving to get gas in his tanks that day. Levi stared into Alex's blue eyes and sighed.

"Just hand me that bottle."


	32. Answering Hanji's Questions

"Alex."

Alex rolled over and faced the wall, totally ignoring the voice that called her name.

"Alex."

Alex put her pillow over her head and snuggled back into her warm blankets.

"Alex!"

Alex's eyes shot open rather quickly. She turned and glare at the person who took the time out of their day - her day - to wake her up. "What?" Alex snapped. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she winced a the pounding in her head. She groaned and closed her eyes. What happened. Oh, right - she decided to drown her sorrows away last night. Alex looked down and saw that she was indeed in her bed, not drooling on the table she was sat at last night.

"Wait, how did I get here..?" Alex thought in confusion. She doesn't remember walking back to her room, much less even getting up from the table. Maybe she blacked out? Alex sighed, not really caring.

"You and Eren are answering all my questions today, remember? It's been a week and I can't wait any longer!" Hanji said excitedly. Alex glared at the happy female and glanced at the clock that hung above the door.

"It's five in the fucking morning," Alex stated and glared at Hanji with tired eyes. She could just feel the bags forming underneath her blue eyes. Big, dark, ugly bags. Not to mention, she had a hangover. Tiredness plus hangover equals a not-so-nice Alex Bellerose.

"I said that I couldn't wait any longer," Hanji grinned. Alex's eyes bore into Hanji's sole. "I'm going back to sleep." Alex stated and then laid her head back onto her white, fluffy pillow and covered her body in the warm blanket. But suddenly that warmth was gone and replaced by a chill of goosebumps.

"Give me back my fucking blanket!"

"No can do Fire Eyes!"

"Fire Eyes? What the actual fuck? I swear on Wall Rose that I will slash your body into tiny pieces and feed them to the pigs!"

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"You're a fucking idiot."

"If I was, why would I be the best scientist in the Scout Regiment?"

"Just give me back my fucking blanket."

"You're going to have to catch me first!" Hanji singed than ran out of Alex's room. Alex looked down at her cloths; black shorts and blue tank top. She groaned inwardly and threw herself off of her comfy bed then walked out of her door. Not many people were awake right now - breakfast usually wasn't until seven so most people woke up around six. So it was safe to say that no one would see her; she didn't exactly enjoy the hunger stares she got from hormonal teenagers.

One time - as training Cadet - Sasha had decided to pull a prank on Alex by hanging her clothes on top of one of the tall poles in the area. Sasha being her usual stupid annoying self just had to hang them on top of the one that sat directly in the center of the training grounds. Not having anything else to change into - and she was definitely not going to borrow someone else's clothes - Alex walked out in only short black shorts and a white tank top. Of course there were people out there when she went. Even better - Shadis was there. Alex wasn't exactly embarrassed, but the looks the boys were giving her made her want to throw up.

"Cadet Bellerose, what do you think your doing out here dressed like that?" Shadis asked, purposely avoiding looking down at her outfit.

"Sasha hung my clothes up on that fucking pole and I had nothing to else to change into," Alex said calmly and pushed past him. Immediately, Shadis called for Sasha.

She ended up having to run until she couldn't no more - again. Alex rolled her eyes, it's not like anyone actually chooses to wake at the ass crack of dawn, so she didn't have anything to worry about. Or so she thought.

Alex walked down the empty halls angrily. Her hands were clenched into tight fist, and just by looking at her anyone could tell she was pissed off. She was cold, tired, and her head hurt. Not to mention she probably reeked of alcohol from last night's 'sorrow drowning.'

She was too mad to notice someone standing directly in front of her, that she ended put smacking right into their chest when they turned around. "Ugh, what the fuck? Who is actually awake at this hour?" Alex asked rubbing her head. The sudden bump in only made her hangover worse.

"Alex, what are you doing exactly?"

Alex rolled her eyes at the voice. Of course it just had to be Levi. "Oh, I don't know just strolling around half naked, you?" Alex said sarcastically. Levi's steel blue eyes stared into her brilliant blue ones, which caused her to sigh annoyingly. "Hanji stole my blanket and I'm trying to find her so I can go back to bed. There, now bye," Alex waved her hand and went to walk past him. But his hand shot out a prevented her from taking another step.

"I actually need to you do something for me," Levi said calmly. Alex closed her eyes and tilted her head back. "I just want to go back to sleep," She whined, "but I obviously don't really have a choice so what is it?"

"Tell Hanji to pick a better spot for the alcohol." Alex's eyes widened, but she quickly put the back to her usual look. "Why?" She asked looking at him.

"Because I saw a certain person drinking last night that wasn't supposed to."

"You're just delusional."

"I think you know what I'm talking about."

"Sorry, I'm not crazy in the head to imagine such things."

"I saw you drinking last night."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Levi glared at Alex. Alex glared at Levi. Both of them had the exact same coldness and stubbornness, that the glaring contest could last forever. But it was Hanji's voice that snapped them both out of their cold glares.

"Oh, Alex! I'm cover here," Hanji singed with a smile on her face and swung Alex's blanket around. "Keep it. I honestly don't care anymore. I'm going to bed," Alex said lamely and turned around on her heals.

"Levi! Stop her! She and Eren have to answer all my questions today!" Hanji whined while tugging on Levi's arm. Levi sighed and rolled his eyes. "Alex, go with Hanji and do whatever she wants," Levi ordered then ripped his arm away from the Titan-loving female. Alex turned around and glared at the short man.

"I really don't like you."

"Oh, hey Ale- Um," Eren stopped his greeting when he noticed what Alex was wearing and blushed slightly. Alex rolled her eyes, "Yes, Eren I'm wearing shorts and a tank top. Get over it."

Eren looked away as Hanji walked in the room and shut the door. "So, what happened?"

"My body did something weird, Eren turned, then him and Annie fought. Can I go back to bed now?" Alex asked and rested her head in her hand.

"I need details!" Hanji grinned. Alex's eyes felt heavy and she waved her hand carelessly in the air.

"Fine, have Eren explain it to you. I'm going to sleep."


	33. Letter

Alex leaned against the large oak tree as she watched her comrades fight each other. Today was just another day of training, and like always, Alex only fought a few people - and won - and then nobody else wanted to fight her out of fear. Most of them had seen her when they were trying to capture Annie and were still afraid of what she could do to them.

"Alex Bellerose?"

Alex looked up to see a tall man with a black hood on, which covered his face. She gave him a confused look,"Who's asking?" The man stayed silent and handed her an envelope than ran off before Alex could say anything. Alex - still confused - stared down at the white envelope. It's edges were slightly colored, but other than that it was pure white. It didn't have anything written on it except for her name and a black rose sticker that sealed the envelope. After looking around and making sure nobody saw anything, Alex shoved the envelope in her pocket to read later when she had more privacy. It was strange, who would send her a letter anyways? And why was it delivered by that man in black? Usually when people got mail Erwin would have someone from the Corps go around and deliver them to everyone. So it was weird that someone who obviously wasn't from any type of corps would hand her a letter personally.

"I wonder if anyone else saw him?" Alex thought while looking in the directing the man disappeared to.

"Hey Alex, wanna train?" Eren asked causing Alex to snap her face towards him. Alex shook the strange man out of her head - it was training time. "Yeah, sure." Alex said and followed Eren onto the training grounds. But the thoughts still sent chills over her body.

"Did you deliver the letter to her successfully?" asked the man in the large chair that sat in the center. The man in black nodded, "Yes, sir." The man in the throne grinned and intertwined his fingers together in his lap. The dark room fully hid his face, so the only thing they could see of their leader was his body that was covered in a black rope with what looked like blue flames on the bottom and sleeves. The man chuckled, which sent chills down the other man's back, "Good, the plan is already in process. Soon we shall rule together, my beautiful rose."

Alex wiped the few drops of sweat that had formed on her forehead. "You've gotten better," Alex commented while Eren panted heavily. Eren lifted his head up slightly and gave a weak smile, "Thanks!" Alex nodded and walked away and into headquarters. Her and Eren were the last ones on the training grounds. They fought for hours and surprisingly didn't injure each other that much. Alex sighed and walked into the dinning hall, where everyone else sat and talked among each other while they ate. Alex rolled her eyes when she saw Sasha sitting on Connie while she continued to eat his supper.

"How does that girl never gain weight?" Alex thought as she turned her head away from the food loving female. She grabbed a loaf of bread and took a bite out of it as she took a seat next to Reiner. He glanced at her then smirked. "I knew you'd come to your senses one of these days," Reiner grinned and wrapped a strong arm around Alex's waist. Alex stopped chewing on her bread and glared at Reiner. "You're right," Alex started which made Reiner smirk in victory, "I should've beat the shit out of you earlier!"

Reiner's face paled and Alex grinned at the sudden mood change. "H-Hey! I didn't mean it!" Reiner said lifting his arms in surrender as Alex stood up from the table and grabbed his shirt and pulled him off the bench. The blonde landed on the floor with a thump, which caused some of the nearby soldiers to turn their attention to them. Bertholdt forced a nervous smile, "H-Hey, there's no need to fight." But Alex ignored his weak effort to stop her and looked down at the teenager on the floor.

"So now you're saying I'm unattractive and that you were just messing with me?" Alex asked innocently while blinking her eyes. Reiner reddened, "N-No! You're actually really hot!" Alex frowned. "I'm a temperature?" Alex asked tilting her head to the side while wearing an anger expression. Reiner stood up and slowly backed away from the black haired girl. Alex grinned at him, "I'll give you three seconds." Reiner pales, again, and then he started running out of the room. Alex closed her eyes.

"One."

Reiner slammed the dinning hall door shut and looked frantically at both directions.

"Two."

Reiner decided and started running left.

"Three."

Alex opened her eyes and calmly walked out of the dinning hall. She wasn't really going to find him, actually it was just a way to get him off her back. While Reiner hid in the cramped supply closet, Alex started walking towards her bedroom. Her footsteps echoed through the empty corridors until she reached her room. She opened the door carelessly and walked in, letting the door slam shut. She sighed and sat down at her desk that she never really bothered to use.

Alex pulled out the slightly wrinkled letter and set it on the desk then stared at it. Who was it from? What did that want? Questions ran through Alex's mind as she stared down at the white envelope. Deciding that none of these questions would be answered until she opened the envelope and actually read what was inside, she opened it. She pulled out a single piece of white paper that had words written in ink on it. She laid it down flat on the desk and started reading it.

"Dear Alex Bellerose..."


	34. Meet Up

"Dear Alex Bellerose,

Meet me at Joker's Bite at midnight.

\- B. R. S."

Alex stared at the note with a confused face. Joker's Bite was a bar located in the underground, and this person wanted her to meet them at midnight? Rape is very high down there. Along with kidnapping and selling. Of course Alex would know this information; she used go down there all the time, but never at night. And who is this 'B. R. S.' person? Alex sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Maybe it's initials.." She thought out loud then crossed her arms over her chest. 'Why does this person want to meet me? What do they want? Who are they?' Unanswered question after another ran through Alex's mind. She looked up at the cheep clock that hung above her door; eight o'clock at night. Two hours until they were supposed to meet. "Should I go?" Alex questioned herself right as a knock came from her door. She jumped slightly and quickly shoved the letter in her bra - what? It's not like anyone's going to grab in there.

"Who is it?" Alex asked plainly staring at the door with a glare. "Captain Levi wants you in his office," the person said, not bothering to give their name, and then walked away. Alex rolled her eyes as the footsteps got quieter until they became silent to her ears. Sighing, Alex stood up from the wooden chair and walk out of her room. As she walked to Levi's office - which was on the other side of the building - she passed the fireplace that still burned brightly with orange flames. Alex glanced around, seeing nobody in sight, and quickly tossed the letter in the fire. She watched as the edges slowly started burning first, and then the rest of the flames engulfed the rest of the paper.

Alex smirked and continued walking down the dark lit corridors. Little did she know, a certain blonde was watching her every move.

"State your name and business."

Alex rolled her eyes, "Alex Bellerose, you called me." The sound of someone getting up came through the door right before it opened. Levi stood there with an emotionless face, but his eyes told her to come in. Without saying a word, Alex walked in and lazily sat down in one of the two chairs that were placed in front of his desk.

"So, why am I here exactly?" Alex asked with a bored voice. She didn't know why she was here. Maybe he found out about the letter? No, he couldn't have. Alex shook the thought out of her mind. Levi shut the door and walked over to Alex's side. Alex looked up and met his gaze.

"I need you to do an errand for me," Levi explained and walked over to his chair behind the desk then sat in it. Alex raised an eyebrow, "What kind of errand?"

Levi looked up and met her blue eyes. "You're pretty familiar with the underground, right?" Levi asked. Alex stiffened. What if he does know? Slowly, Alex nodded. Levi leaned back in his chair and intertwined his fingers together. "There's a package that I need delivered. It's something for an old.. acquaintance that is a favor return. Don't open it at all. You'll just need to give it to the bartender of Joker's Bite and that's all," Levi explained. Alex tried not to make her eyes widen. It was the perfect opportunity, she didn't even have to sneak out.

"Yeah, okay. What's in it for me then?" Alex questioned while staring at Levi with blank eyes. Levi sighed and stood up from his seat. He walked past Alex then stood directly behind her. She didn't bother to turn around, she could feel the body heat radiation off his skin. Alex blinked as Levi bent down to where his mouth was right next to her ear. His warm breath sent chills down her spine, even though she tried to stop it.

"Nothing," Levi said huskily then stood up straight, "you're still my cadet, you do as I say with no questions asked."

Alex rolled her eyes and stood up. "Yeah, whatever. Just give me the damn package. At least I get to be away from all the idiots in this place," Alex said, muttering the last part to herself, but Levi still heard it. Levi glared at her then handed her the package. It wasn't that big - no, it was actually as small as a book. Even though Alex wondered what was inside, she forced herself not to think about it. Alex looked away from him and started walking to the door. She opened it, causing it to creak.

"Oh, and Alex," Levi spoke causing Alex to turn her head towards him, "be careful."

Alex gave him a slight nod with a confused look on her face and walked out of the room. After she closed the door, Levi cursed to himself out loud.

"Why would I even say that?"

Alex walked down the dark alleyways in the underground. It was dark, and the smell of death was everywhere. There was barely any light; the only light came from the small houses and bars. Not many people roamed the area, but when Alex saw someone should would try her best to hide in the shadows. And as expected, nobody noticed her.

She wore a black hood - something she used to wear when things were.. normal. The black cape brought good and bad memories, but Alex quickly shrugged them off before she could have a breakdown. Alex walked up to the Joker's Bite. Light shined out of the windows, and she could hear the loud laughter of drunk men from outside. Sighing, Alex yanked the handle open. She kept her head down and tried to avoid the strange stares.

Wordlessly, Alex placed the package on the counter. The bartender looked at the package to Alex then walked to the back with the package in his hands. Cautiously, Alex allowed part of her face to be shown so she could get a good look at the place and the people in it. Just like any other bar, there were drunken idiots laughing, fighting, shouting, talking, and playing pool and cards. No one seemed suspicious or were looking at her directly.

It was midnight, so why wasn't the person there? Maybe they weren't going to show up and this was all some stupid hoax. Alex sighed inwardly and walked out of the bar that reeked of cheep alcohol. But as soon as she stepped out into the dark night and shut the door, three sets of hands grabbed at her. One put a gag in her mouth and a blindfold and the other two held her down.

"Dammit," Alex thought before she fell into a world full of darkness.


	35. Overheard Conversations

Levi woke up the following day and did his usual routine; shower, get dressed, make sure everything in his room was clean, then walk to the dinning hall to get breakfast. When he walked into the room filled with noise, the talking dialed down slightly because everyone's attention turned to the person who had just entered the room. After glancing at the staring cadets with a bored look, Levi got his usual - black tea and bread. He then sat down lazily at the table he sits at everyday, next to Hanji.

"Hey, have you guys seen Alex at all?" Eren asked loud enough for Levi to hear. He paused, cup in hand, and stared at the table Eren was sitting at. Everyone except Reiner shook their heads. "No, maybe she's still sleeping?" Sasha suggested and took a bite out of her bread. Connie nodded in agreement then went back to talking to Armin about something.

"Still sleeping.. Yeah that's probably it," Levi thought. After all, she was out late at night. Shrugging the doubtful feeling off, Levi continued to ignore Hanji's rants and drink his favored black tea.

"Hey, Reiner. You okay?" Eren asked observing the blonde that was more than half asleep on his hand. Reiner blinked and sat up straight, started, "Huh?"

Eren snorted, "I asked if you were okay. What, did you stay up to late hiding from Alex?" Reiner blinked away the blurriness and rubbed his eyes. "Yeah.." Reiner lied smoothly. Eren gave him a questioning look then quickly replaced it with an amused one and started laughing at him. After he was done laughing, he started arguing to Jean about something stupid. Reiner looked over at his tall friend who was silently talking to Christa. Bertholdt looked up at Reiner and Reiner just gave him the 'head nod' towards the door. Bertholdt gave him a questioning look, but agreed and sat up.

"Bert and I are going to start training now, see you guys soon," Reiner lied and received a small amount of not caring nods. Reiner stood up and followed Bertholdt out the door. Levi stared at the two boys as they walked out of the dinning hall.

"And then it-" Hanji started with the rest of her story (that Levi did not give one fuck about) but ended up stopping in the middle of her sentence as Levi stood up. "What, wait, where are you going?" Hanji rambled. Levi looked at her with bored and tired eyes, "Why should I tell you?" Hanji pouted and turned to Mike to continue her story.

"What is it?" Bertholdt asked after they stepped out of the room. It was just him and Reiner in the hallway.

"I saw Alex throw a piece of paper in the fire last night then go to Levi's office. When she walked out, she was carrying something and was wearing this black cape like she was going somewhere. So I followed her and we ended up in the underground at this bar. But when she walked out these guys kidnapped her," Reiner said frustratingly. Bertholdt's eyes widened.

"What? Were they..?"

Reiner nodded, "Yep. They were-"

"What are you two idiots doing out here?" Levi asked coldly. Both men jumped out of surprise and stared at Levi with wide eyes. Did he hear them?

"I- uh- we-"

"We were about to start doing extra training," Reiner lied. Levi eyed him for a couple seconds then turned and walked to his office. The two men let out a breath of relief.

"Do you think he heard us?" Bertholdt asked worriedly. Reiner shook his head, "I doubt it." Bertholdt nodded and started walking to the training grounds with Reiner following closely behind, both of them dropping the subject do to risk of someone hearing them.

Levi sat in his wooden chair, thinking. He hadn't heard their whole conversation, just pieces of it. The words 'followed,' 'underground,' and 'kidnapped' grabbed his attention. Who were they talking about? Was it Alex? No, it couldn't be. It was probably someone else. But he knew it wasn't someone else. He had sent Alex to the underground last night, and she hasn't been seen since. Levi got up from his chair and walked out of the room, deciding to check her room. It was still possible that she was still sleeping. The travel to the underground and headquarters was about thirty minutes on horse, but Alex didn't take her horse, so it was probably around fifty - give or take.

As Levi walked, he passed a girl named Holly Vanbree. She had been in the Survey Corps for awhile now - she was in the 103 Cadet Class. Levi knew she had feeling towards him, but he didn't acknowledge it. Holly smirked when she saw him then quickly replaced it with a wide smile when he noticed her.

"Hi, Corporal." Holly chimed, only to have Levi glance at her then continue walking without saying a word. After he passed her, her face turned in to scowl and she glared at the floor.

"Oh! There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!" Terra, a friend of Holly's, said loudly and ran up to the blonde girl. Holly rolled her eyes then smiled as Terra pulled on her arm, dragging her somewhere. But Holly's eyes glared at the hallway Levi had walked down.

Levi, on the other hand, stood outside Alex's door. He knocked first - maybe she was changing? - but got no response. Frowning, he turned the handle and opened the door. He stepped in and observed her clean room. Everything was clean, even the bed was made which surprised Levi. But there was no sign of Alex, or any other form of life in the quiet room. Levi walked out of the room and closed the door behind him.

He didn't know why he cared so much, but it was understandable he was worried. Alex was different with her powers, it could be dangerous if someone took her. Levi straightened his posture and put on a blank face, and started walking to his office to write an important letter to Erwin.

"Why would someone take her?"

"Now that she's gone, he will eventually see."

"Dammit, why did he have to get her first?"


	36. Your Love

Alex tried blinking away the small black dots that blinded her vision. Her vision was still blurry and being surround by darkness didn't help either. Her head hurt, and the blood pounding in her ears only made it worse. She tried sitting put, but her wrists and feet were tried to the bed she was laying on. "Where am I? What happened?" She questioned herself. Alex didn't have the answers, but she was going to get them. Going back to the other night, the last thing she remember was walking out of Joker's Bite. Everything after that was just a black hole filled with questions.

Then she remember it; the letter. The letter that told her to meet this 'B.R.S.' person at the exact bar she was at last night. She didn't meet him, but instead she was taken against her own will. Alex groaned inwardly at her stupidity. Why did she even do it? She didn't know the person, she didn't know if they were trustworthy, yet she still showed up and look at where that got her - tied to a bed in an unknown place.

Her clothes were still on her, which made Alex slightly relieved. She tried struggling again, but the ropes only dug deeper into her skin. Blood trickled down her wrists and onto her hair. She didn't mind it; she just wanted to get out.

"Struggling will only make it worse," a voice spoke from the other side of the room. Alex stopped moving and darted her eyes in the direction the voice came from. There was a small amount of light in the dark room that was provided by the lantern her kidnapper held. His face was still hidden by the darkness, but Alex could see his clothes. A black rope with blue flames on it.

Alex's eyes narrowed at the unknown man who had started walking towards her slowly. "Who the fuck are you? And why the hell am I here, tied up?" Alex asked harshly. It was obvious she was pissed, but the man only chuckled. His laugh sent chills down Alex's body - and not good chills either.

"You know, my family has been trying to find yours for many, many generations," the man started and stroked Alex's cheek with his cold hand. Alex flinched away and glared at the man. The man took a seat in a chair that Alex hadn't noticed and set the light source on that small round table that stood next to it. The man's head was now visible, but his face was covered by the hood of the rope he was wearing.

"What are you even talking about?" Alex asked confusingly. She didn't understand what the stranger meant or why he would say that. The man chuckled and slowly pulled his hood down; revealing his face. He was young, probably no older than nineteen. He had dark brown hair that was styled messily but still ended up looking good on him, and blue eyes that matched Alex's. It was the same blue, there's no mistaking it. Alex's eyes were a unique blue, but it was still very beautiful. No one could place the exact color, but they all still loved it. But that wasn't the think that stuck out the most of his face. It was the scars - or birthmarks - on his eye lids. When he blinked, Alex saw them. They were like a fire; flames.

Overall, the man was actually attractive. But that didn't change the fact he kidnapped Alex. Alex stared at his eyes with confusion. How come they were the same color as her eyes? What about those marks on his eyelids? Who was this man? What happened to him? Why is he doing this? Questions. That's all that has been on Alex's mind for the past few days. After everything settled with the whole Annie thing, and it looked like things were going to go back to normal - or just more normal and calm - all this stuff had to happen.

"I'd love to explain everything to you, but I'll need something in return," the man said with a smile. Alex furrowed her brows together and frowned. "What?" She asked. The man lowered his face to where his warm breath hit her face.

"Your love," he whispered.

"I just don't understand how he found out she was here," Reiner sighed and rested his head in his hands, "everything's ruined now." Bertholdt frowned and uncrossed his arms. "I thought that the Schroeder family was extinct or something," Bertholdt said scratching the back of his neck. Reiner looked up from his hands and crossed them.

"Yeah, so did I," he said with a frown.

"How did he get over the wall?" Bertholdt asked. Reiner shrugged.

"There's many ways, he could've done it when we did. Or he could have been here all along," Reiner groaned in frustration. "I can't believe this."

"So you think she's been kidnapped?" Erwin asked. He had traveled all the way to the headquarters Levi has been staying at and now both of them were in his office discussing the emergency letter Levi had sent. Levi nodded and crossed his arms, "Yeah. She was meant to go deliver something, but she never came back. And the Female Titan was after her and Eren, it wouldn't be surprising that others are after them too."

Erwin nodded, agreeing with his last sentence. It wouldn't actually be that surprising, there was still the Armour and Colossal Titan's that could be looking for her. Erwin sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"I doubt Alex would run away, she's had multiple chances to do it before. So I agree that she's probably been taken. We'll start questioning people tomorrow morning to see if they know anything," Erwin said standing up from his chair then started walking towards the door.

"Well, I have a feeling that one cadet knows something," Levi said. Erwin's hand hovered over the door handle and he turned his face to look at Levi, "And who's that?"

"Reiner Braun," Levi answered.

Erwin nodded, "Then we'll start with him first."

"Holly, where are you going?" Terra asked as her roommate shrugged on a black coat. The sun had just set minutes ago and Holly was getting ready to leave somewhere. Holly bent down and started putting on her boots. "I'm going to go visit my brother," Holly answered, causing Terra to become confused.

"You have a brother?" Terra asked tilting her head to the side. Holly nodded, "Yeah. Half-brother anyways." Terra nodded understanding it.

"Wait, did you get permission to leave?" Terra asked worriedly.

"No, so don't tell anyone." Holly ordered. Terra sighed and laid down in her bed. "Okay, I'll cover you this time. But you owe me."

Holly laughed and pulled up her hood, "Yeah sure."


	37. His Property

Alex stared at the stranger in front of her with complete confusion. Her love? Why would he want that? It's not like she could just give it to him, after the first attack on the walls Alex barely felt anything but harshness. So love? Yeah, that was out of the question. Alex snorted and choked out a laugh. "My love? Why the hell would you want that? I don't even know your name," Alex said, still confused by the whole ideal. So this man kidnapped her just for her love? Damn.

"It's Blaine. Blaine Ryan Schroeder the seventh," the man - Blaine - introduced himself. Alex nodded slowly realizing that his initials matched the ones on the letter. So it was actually him, but what still didn't make sense was why he took her.

"Okay, so Blaine explain to me why the fuck I'm here," Alex demanded not so nicely. She honestly didn't care if she sounded rude in anyway; it never bothered her before. She spoke to everyone like that, and this guy had it coming to him anyways. Blaine narrowed his eyes at Alex's matching blue ones as he stood up from the old wooden chair. "You will not speak to me like that anymore, because from now on you are my property. You will do as I say or you'll get punished. And I won't go easy on you."

The way he said that sent chills down Alex's spine. His voice changed dramatically, going from annoying and smooth as silk to deep and rough. With that being said, Blaine walked out of the room, making sure he slammed the door in the process. Alex slowly let her back lay flat against the white sheets on the bed and stared up at the ceiling that she couldn't even see. Blaine had taken the lantern with him when he walked away, so the room went back to be darker than the night.

Maybe it was actually night right now, who knows? Alex surely didn't. She hasn't set foot outside in a whole day, or anywhere for that matter. What confused her was how Blaine had asked for her love then tell her she was his property not long after. His mood had changed from amused to demanding. Was he bipolar? That would make sense. Or maybe he just has anger issues? Maybe both?

Alex sighed and closed her eyes. The blood that poured out of her wounds has dried to her skin now making it feel really tight whenever she moved it. Alex knew she couldn't get out of this place. And that's what upset her the most. At this exact moment she was weak. Vulnerable. Useless. Hopeless.

Just like that day several years ago.

She was stuck and couldn't do anything. Maybe she was going to die here. Alex laughed at that thought. For the years now she had always thought she would die to the hands or mouth of a Titan, or be executed because of her abnormal powers. Since the whole Annie thing happened Alex hasn't been able to even try out her new powers. Back then - when capturing Annie - something inside of her snapped Something awakened. She wasn't in control, yet she was. Alex sighed wishing that she could become that again.

Alex's eyes suddenly felt heavy even though she woke up less than an hour ago. It was like her energy was drained. She had to admit she felt weird when she first woke up, but she didn't think much of it considering she was still going through the shock that she allowed herself to be kidnapped. Was it these ropes? Alex had gotten a small glance at them when Blaine was in here with the lantern. They were white and had weird symbols and words on it. She didn't get to looked at them closely enough to make out the symbols or words since Blaine left before she could even try.

Alex yawned and involuntarily let her eyelids close shut.

"Your sister is here Master Blaine," one of the servants said quietly as Blaine walked back into the room and sat down in his throne. Blaine rolled his eyes, "Send her in." The servant nodded quickly and left in the blink of an eye to retrieve Blaine's younger sibling. Moments later that same servant returned to the room with a blonde haired girl - Blaine's sister.

Blaine looked at his sister blankly. "What do you want?" He asked, but it seemed more like a bored statement. His sister smiled sickly, "Is that how you should greet your beloved sister, brother?"

Blaine glared at the brown eyed girl and sighed. "Seriously, what are you doing here Holly? If someone notices you left and followed you we could be in deep shit," Blaine growled. Holly rolled her eyes and walked up to Blaine. "Don't worry about it, I'm having my roommate cover for me. Stupid girl," Holly trailed off with a smirk then looked up at Blaine.

"I just wanted to see how things are going so far," Holly grinned. Blaine closed his eyes in annoyance and rubbed his temples. "Not well. As you can see I still have the curse," Blaine sighed, "I still don't understand how you didn't get stuck with it." Holly chuckled, "Do we have to go over this again? Mother cheated. Had a child with a man that didn't have the curse, like your father did."

Blaine cleared his throat and glared at his sister, "Yes, I know. But soon enough this stupid curse will be gone forever and I'll be able to use the power that my family name holds. And once that's completed I'll either rule with the girl or kill her depending on how her attitude goes and you'll be with your Levi character."

Holly smiled winningly. "See? Everything works out for both of us. I told you it would," she said with a chuckle. Blaine waved his hand annoyingly, "Yes, yes. Now leave before other notice you're missing or this plan will fall apart."

Holly rolled her brown eyes and turned her back to him then walked out of the room and into the cold night. Blaine sighed and leaned back into his throne with a smirk.

"These Titan slayers won't even know what's coming," Blaine said then laughed lowly.


	38. Announcement

Levi stood next to Erwin on the tall platform that sat in front of every member of the Scout Regiment. Some of the cadets were nervous and confused as to why they had called the sudden meeting. Rumors and whispers spread throughout the crowds making Levi annoyed. Eren stood on Levi's other side just as confused as his comrades.

"Levi, what's going on?" Eren asked for the tenth time. Levi stared straight and gritted his teeth together to stop himself from snapping at the Titan boy. Right now everything was going to be focused on Alex, not him and his easily provoked issues.

"You'll find out soon," Levi said, finally answering the question that has been on Eren's mind for the past twenty minutes. Eren mumbled something under his breath but Levi acted not to hear it. Eren was still confused about the situation, and he still hadn't seen Alex. It's been a day and a half since the last time he saw her - well, since anyone has seen her.

Eren's sea green eyes scanned the crowd trying to find the blue eyed girl, but didn't find her. There were too many people with blue eyes and black hair, but most of them were talking with their friends so Eren knew it couldn't be Alex. Alex would probably be standing somewhere off to the side, away from all the people. Eren knew she didn't like people, but he still tried his best to become her friend.

He didn't know why he kept trying to be her friend even though she's told him many times that caring for other only makes it harder for when they die. He knew her words were right because when he found out that Marco had died in Trost he didn't know how to feel. He didn't want to ever experience that feeling again.

"Oi, brat pay attention. It's about to start," Levi said snapping Eren out of his thoughts. Eren gulped and nodded then straightened his posture.

"I know you all are probably confused as to why we called a sudden meeting, I would be too if I were you," Erwin said speaking loudly. Everyone quieted down and turned their attention to their commander. Erwin scanned over the crowd before continuing.

"But this is a very important announcement, and afterwards most of you will be questioned by myself and Levi," Erwin explained then cleared his throat for the actual topic.

"We have reason to believe that Alex Bellerose, the girl we had taken into custody along with Eren, has been kidnapped," Erwin said boldly. Gasps and whispers came from the crowd as their eyes widened. Eren looked forward in shock. He hadn't even thought about it, but was that really what happened?

Reiner who stood next to Bertholdt cursed under his breath. Bertholdt's eyes widened and he glanced over at Reiner. "This is bad," Bertholdt mumbled, "this is really bad."

"Damn! How did they figure that out?" Reiner groaned earning stares from the people around him. He glared at each of them until they turned their attention elsewhere.

"Do you think Levi actually overheard us?" Bertholdt asked in a whisper. Reiner sighed.

"I don't know. Maybe. But this could still be of great help. They're probably going to have a lot of us search for her and find the hiding spot she was taken to. With that information we could possibly get there first since we know more information about the Schroeder's than they do. Even though it's not that much, it's still more."

Bertholdt nodded in agreement. Even though the situation has changed and their plans were slightly set back, this could also help them get to her faster. At this point, they didn't really need Eren that much. Everything was going to be focused on Alex, and Alex only for them.

Holly stood next to Terra with a scowl on her face. How did they figure it out so quickly? It hasn't even been two full days since she's gone missing. The plan was for them to think she ran off, but now that they 'have reason' to think she's been taken makes it a little bit more difficult. Holly glared at the commander, because now she has to sneak out again to tell the news to her brother.

"We could be in the wrong about this and she could have ran off, but we must take anything into consideration. Alex is a powerful being, you all saw that during our latest battle. It's dangerous for her to be on the streets, and it could be dangerous for Eren if someone took her. So from now on our main goal is to find Alex and bring her back, whether she was taken or ran away. Everyone from the 104th Cadet Corps Class stay behind, everyone who stays in the hallway of Alex's bedroom stay behind, and anyone with any information stay behind too. We will be interviewing you shortly. The rest of you are dismissed," Erwin said and immediately anyone who didn't have to do with any of those conditions.

As they walked away they talked among themselves about the sudden news they were given. It was a shock to everyone. Sasha's jaw dropped so far that Connie ended up shutting it for her since she was in to much of a state of shock. Armin was slightly sad and confused, Mikasa was shocked and angry because Alex was one of the small amount of people she trusted with her life, Jean was angry because he couldn't believe Alex let herself get kidnapped or was cowardly enough to run away, Christa was sad, Ymir didn't care that much but was sad because Christa was sad, and everyone else didn't know what to think of it.

As the people cleared out the small group from the same class as Alex got together and started talking about it. "I can't believe she would run away like that," Jean growled glaring at tree in front of him.

Mikasa frowned, "No, she wouldn't do that. I know how she thinks, and she wouldn't have any reason to run away. She was probably taken like they said."

Reiner and Bertholdt glanced as each other; they had to somehow convince them that she had ran away.

"I don't know.. Maybe she did run away. She probably got fed up with Levi's attitude and decided she was done dealing with it," Reiner tried. Armin shook his head.

"No, if anything she would fight back. She's too head strong about things," Armin said tapping his foot. Bertholdt and Reiner frowned.

"I just hope she's alright," Sasha said and Connie nodded in agreement. None of these people were friends to Alex in her eyes, but they had been together since the start of training. It would be strange if they didn't care about each other in the slightest way.

Eren still stood next to Levi still trying to comprehend the news. He couldnt' believe it; that Alex was kidnapped. He knew that she didn't run away, she wasn't that type of person. She didn't have a reason to run away. Eren sighed to himself and noticed his friends all talking to each other not to far from him. He tried to walk over to them, but Levi grabbed his arm. Eren turned his face and gave him a confused look.

"If she was kidnapped then you could be in danger too. You're going to be under supervision at all time from now on," Levi explained letting go of Eren's arm. Eren blinked then nodded, knowing it was probably for the best. Erwin stepped back up to the front of the stage and observed the remained soldiers.

"Okay, we will start the interviews now, starting with Reiner Braun."


	39. Questions About Alex (Part One)

Reiner sat down in the cold wooden chair nervously. He tried his best to hide it, but he wasn't doing that good of a job at it. Levi noticed Reiner's eye twitching every now and then and how he would often wipe his sweaty palms on his white jeans. Levi raised an eyebrow but said nothing until the interrogation started.

"So you're Reiner Braun, right?" Erwin asked intertwining his fingers together as he leaned forward and looked Reiner in the eyes. Reiner slowly nodded.

"Yep." Reiner said calmly, his nervousness slightly downgrading. Erwin nodded then leaned back in his chair before crossing his arms over is chest. Levi scoffed and pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning on seconds ago. He walked over to the table and slammed his hands down on it. The sudden aggression made Reiner jump and become somewhat scared. Levi smirked inwardly at the result. Erwin was to be the nice guy, while Levi? Anyone can figure that out.

"What do you know?" Levi asked straightforwardly while glaring into Reiner's eyes. Reiner blinked and sighed with a shrug.

"Nothing, but she was acting a little strange the other night. You know, the one where she kind of embarrassed me," Reiner said with a frown. His nervousness was completely gone - or at least that's what he told himself. He was still slightly nervous, but he had to put of an act. He's been doing it for over five years now, why should an hour be any different? Exactly.

Levi narrowed his eyes even more - if that's even possible - and repeated his words again, "What do you know?"

"Like I said, nothing." Reiner said tapping his foot quietly. He just wanted this to get over and done with so he could find Alex sooner and complete his and Bertholdt's mission. Levi's eyes twitched and a scowl replaced his thin line.

"I overheard you talking to your little buddy, Bertholdt was it? Do you think he would start talking?" Levi asked as he tapped on his chin pretending to think. Reiner's eyes widened at the thought of them questioning his best friend Bert. He knew his friend wouldn't tell them, but his nervousness would get the best of him and they would be suspicious. So Reiner sighed and looked down at his hands in his lap.

"Alright, I tell you." Reiner said quietly. Levi smirked in satisfaction and Erwin raised his bushy eyebrows. Reiner didn't dare to look up as he spoke the lie he made up.

"The other night I was hiding from Alex, but when I finally noticed she wasn't looking for me anymore I decided to go to my room and get some sleep." Okay, that part was actually true. So not all of this was a lie.

"But as I was walking I noticed Alex walking in from the other direction. She threw a paper into the fire and then continued walking. I tried to get the paper but it was already burnt," Reiner explained. That part was also true. Actually, most of this was true just one little lie that'll change the situation around to make him look like a victim. Erwin and Levi's eyes urged him to go on. Reiner sighed and played with his thumbs.

"A few minutes later she walked to the front entrance so I decided to follow her. She had something, a package maybe. I'm not sure, it was dark so I couldn't see it that well. I ended up following her to the underground at a bar called 'Joker's Bite.' I waited outside for her to come back out, in case she got drunk. She came out not long after going in, but she didn't have the package this time. As soon as she came out a whole bunch of guys dressed in black attacked her. I tried to do something but they had someone else knock me out. They said 'Don't say anything' before they did," Reiner explained. If you didn't know this already - the last part never happened. But Erwin and Levi seemed convinced. Levi was still skeptical though.

"That's all? And why didn't you tell anyone about it?" Erwin asked with a raised eyebrow and a confused facial expression. Reiner sighed and finally looked up with bored eyes.

"When I woke up I was in my room, so I'm guessing those people dragged me back or something. There was a note on my chest with a threat on it, a really bad one too, and they said to burn it or else, so I did. I only told Bert because I thought he could probably do something about it," Reiner finished then quickly spoke.

"B-But don't let anyone find out I told you two that!" Reiner said believably. Erwin and Levi looked at each other silently before Erwin turned back around to face Reiner.

"Don't worry, what you say will only stay between him and me, if there anything else?" Erwin asked after assuring Reiner's fake worry. Reiner shook his head.

"No, sorry." He said with a sigh. Erwin nodded.

"Then that will be all."

"Bertholdt," Erwin said looking into Bertholdt's eyes. The tall brunette awkwardly shifted them down to the table, obviously not liking the attention he was getting nor the eye contact. Levi looked over the nervous man and scoffed.

"What's wrong with you?" Levi asked bluntly. Bertholdt dared to look up and meet Levi's eyes but it was to much so he went back to looking down.

"I-I'm not that good at talking with other people," Bertholdt said quietly with a small sigh. Erwin nodded understanding his situation, but Levi continued to glare at him. Levi slowly walked over to where he was standing directly behind Bertholdt's chair. Bertholdt felt his presence and shifted uncomfortably. Levi's eyes narrowed at the back of the tall boy's head.

"Reiner told us he told you about what he saw," Levi said bluntly and forwardly. Bertholdt's eyes widened and Erwin raised an eyebrow then looked at Levi with a confused expression. Levi shrugged and started walking around the room slowly, making sure his footsteps were loud and slow.

"He did?" Bertholdt asked shyly. Erwin nodded while Levi stare with a straight face. Bertholdt sighed.

"Yeah, he did tell me. He didn't tell me everything though," Bertholdt said while staring at the wooden table. Reiner had actually told him everything, but he knew that Reiner would never tell them everything. Knowing Reiner, he probably came up with a lie. Bertholdt just hoped he could match up with his best friend's unknown lie.

"And what did he tell you?" Levi asked.

"That he followed Alex and saw her get kidnapped but he couldn't do anything about it. That's all." Bertholdt said with a small shrug.

"And why didn't you tell anyone?" Erwin questioned. Bertholdt bit his lip and looked down at his thighs. What would Reiner say?

"There was a threat," Bertholdt tried. Erwin and Levi looked at each other before nodded.

"That is all."

"Eren." Levi said while staring at Eren as he sat comfortably in the wooden chair. Eren raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Do you know anything about anything to do with Alex?" Levi asked with his lips in a thin line. Eren shook his head and sighed before running a hand through his brunette locks.

"No. I actually thought she was sleeping in and ditching training," Eren said honestly with a small laugh, "I had no idea that she was kidnapped." Erwin raised an eyebrow and stared at Eren.

"How do you know she was taken and didn't run away?" Erwin asked crossing his arms and leaning forward in his chair that sat across from Eren's. Eren shrugged.

"I've known Alex for a few years now, she's not someone to just quit on things. If anything, she was more determined than me even though she didn't show it as much. She wouldn't run away; it's just not her style. Plus, with her powers I wouldn't be surprised someone would want to take her. Annie wanted us from the start," Eren said frowning at his last sentence. Even though it's been weeks since the Annie incident, he still didn't want to believe it.

"Do you know anyone who would want to take her?" Erwin questioned. Eren shook his head.

"No," Eren said truthfully. Levi nodded his head.

"You may go," Levi said with a sigh. Eren grinned and stood up from the chair then walked out of the small interrogation room, leaving both Levi and Erwin in their thoughts. Levi crossed his arms over each other and leaned against the wall.

"I think it's obvious that Alex was taken," Erwin said. Levi nodded slightly, agreeing.

"Do you believe Reiner and Bertholdt?" Levi asked. Erwin sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know. But we'll make sure to keep an eye on them just in case." He said and rubbed his eyes with his hands. Levi nodded and walked out to get the next person; Holly Vanbree.


	40. Questions About Alex (Part Two)

Holly sat down in the chair calmly and put on a confused expression. "Why am I here?" Holly asked furrowing her eyebrows. She knew how to act - it was one of her talents. She was quite good at it so she knew there was no way she would slip up. Everything would go according to plan, a little bit of the Survey Corps searching is only a small bump on the straight smooth road to her brother's victory. You're probably wondering why she would even both helping her half brother lift his curse, aren't you? Holly gets something out of it; and that something is Levi.

"Your room is only a few down from Alex's," Erwin explained. Holly gave a small nod and frowned.

"Yeah, I never talked to her though." Holly confessed. It was true, she's never talked to the girl. But that doesn't mean she didn't glare at her every chance she got to. Alex might have been observant and strong, but she'd never even noticed Holly. Heck - she didn't even know the girl existed. That made Holly even more mad, but glad at the same time.

"Did you notice anything weird or strange about her in the past week?" Erwin continued. Levi stayed leaned up against the wall, observing Holly's body movements and behavior. Nothing seemed strange about her, in fact she actually looked like she knew nothing. Holly smirked inwardly when she noticed Levi's eyes grazing over her body. She thought he was checking her out; he was just analyzing her.

"I'm not sure. I never really paid attention to her-" Lie. "-but she did seem a little distracted a few days ago, and she kept checking over her shoulder." Also a lie. While Holly's lies spilled out of her mouth she put on a fake concerned face. Levi dropped his stern gaze and let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair.

"We have nothing else to ask you, you can leave." Levi said without looking at her. Holly gave a nod to Erwin and walked out of the room. As she stepped out of the doorway she couldn't help but smirk, but she quickly dropped it when she saw the others who were going to be questioned. Terra was there and they met eyes.

"Don't say anything about me leaving, I don't want them to think I have anything to do with this." Holly whispered quickly as she passed her roommate. Terra gave her a smile and nodded. If only she knew that I have almost everything to do with this.

Jean sat down at the table and glanced between Levi and Erwin before putting his hands up in defense. "I swear I don't know anything, I'd just like to make that clear," Jean confessed with wide eyes. Levi rolled his eyes and glared at Jean.

"Put your arms down, you look stupid." Levi said bluntly. Jean slowly put his arms down and frowned. Erwin glanced at Levi and glared. Levi shrugged and crossed his arms. Erwin sighed and turned his attention back to Jean who sat there silently.

"Did you notice anything strange about Alex this past week?" Erwin asked staring into Jean's eyes. Jean shrugged and leaned back.

"Nope. But she looked distant the other day during training," Jean said, his mind flashing back to when he saw Eren walk over to Alex. That day he noticed Alex kept staring off like she was in her own little world. But he didn't make much out of it, maybe it had to do with her sister or past.

"What do you mean?" Levi questioned. Jean let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, she kept staring off into space like she had something on her mind or something was bugging her. I didn't pry though, she probably would've hit me." Jean explained honestly. He was right, Alex probably would've hit him or said something mean; or both. Levi frowned and looked forward at the wooden wall across from him.

"Anything else?" Erwin urged. Jean shook his head causing Erwin to sigh. "Then that's all," Erwin added.

"Did anything seem weird or strange about Alex at all?" Erwin asked the same question for the third time. Mikasa shook her head and remained straight faced.

"But I know she was taken," Mikasa said boldly. Levi raised an eyebrow.

"Why's that?" He questioned.

"She's not someone to run away from things. She's probably the only person I've fully trust with my life in the past four years, she wouldn't just run off like that." Mikasa explained truthfully. Alex was the only person Mikasa had come to trust with her life while in training. Not only was she intelligent and strong, but she knew how to shut people out so she wouldn't get attached. Something that Mikasa couldn't do herself. Unlike Alex, Mikasa would always try to save Eren first due to personal reasons. Alex would go after whoever seemed most likely to live or was closer to save.

Erwin and Levi nodded understanding Mikasa's point of view. It was obvious that Alex had been taken, after all, Reiner had seen it himself. The only thing that hasn't gone along with the story is what Holly had said, but neither Levi or Erwin thought anything of it.

"You may go."

"S-She didn't run away," Armin said nervously yet confidently when he sat down. Before either Levi or Erwin could speak Armin opened his mouth again and went on to explain why he think that.

"There was no reason for her to run away. People are after her and Eren, they have been from the start. We just don't know who these people are or why they want them. Probably for their powers, that's the only reason why," Armin explained. Erwin nodded and let Armin leave. These interrogations were getting faster and faster.

"You used to bunk with Alex as a Cadet, right?" Erwin asked reading off the paperwork in front of him. Sasha blinked and nodded. In all honesty, it wasn't as bad as people would think it was. Sure, Alex would sometimes kick the bottom of Sasha's mattress, but at least she didn't snore. Or sleep talk or walk.

"Did she ever talk about her past? Anyone wanting her?" Levi asked.

"No. Her past was something no one asked about. One guy did and he ended up with a broken nose and busted lip because he kept pestering her about it," Sasha said and held back a laugh. It was actually quite funny. This one guy - Ben or something - asked about Alex's past and why she seemed so cold and distant. Alex had told him to back off but he didn't and kept asking. So, Alex being Alex beat the shit out of him and made sure they had an audience. Ben avoided Alex at all costs and no one ever brought up her past after the incident.

"Okay, well did you notice anything different about her these past couple of days?" Erwin questioned. Sasha pursed her lips to the side and thought about it before shaking her head.

"Nope, sorry. Now can I get that potato now?" Sasha asked as her eyes darted from Levi to Erwin multiple times.

"You room with Holly Vanbree right?" Levi asked Terra. Terra smiled and nodded not wanting to wait to tell Holly that her crush had said mentioned her name. Terra knew all about Holly's crush on the captain and promised to stay silent about it.

"Did she ever say anything about Alex acting strange or did you notice anything about Alex?" Levi continued to question.

"No, Holly never said anything and I never paid much attention to Alex." Terra said honestly and innocently. Erwin sighed and mumbled a 'you can go.'

They interview the rest (Ymir, Christa, Connie, and some others) and got the same answers from all of them. 'I never really talked to her' 'No, I wasn't that close to her' and so on. Levi was now sitting in his office chair and Erwin was sitting in the one across from it.

"So we know that she was taken for sure now," Erwin spoke up while rubbing his chin. Levi nodded and crossed his arms.

"We've got that but what else do we have? Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing. A dead end. No leads." Levi rubbed his eyes and let out a tired sigh. Erwin chuckled.

"I'm starting to think you care more about this situation than anyone else," Erwin winked. Levi stopped rubbing his eyes and glared at the man who made him join the Scouts.

"Don't be fucking ridiculous, we both know it's a danger to humankind with her not in our possession," Levi said bluntly. Erwin smiled once more and stood up and walked out the door with a nod, obviously going to bed. They would have to finish talking about it later. Levi leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Do I really care more about it than everyone else?


	41. Still Confused

Alex opened her confused eyes to darkness and started panicking. Where am I? What am I doing here? Oh, right - I was taken. Alex's panicked face turned into a scowl. She still didn't know the reason why she was being held against her will or what is up with the Blaine guy who planned all of this. Alex let out a frustrated sigh and started shouting harsh words believing that Blaine could hear her, even if he wasn't. Alex's cold facade was slowly fading and being replaced by her normal self. The self she had hidden away under all the coldness.

She had grown so used to being blunt and cold that she didn't have to act as much as she used to. But now all that hard work of acting was fading and she felt weak.

"You're awake." Blaine's voice boomed from the other side of the room which Alex had assumed is where the exit out of the dark room was. If only she wasn't tied to a bed.

"Like it isn't obvious you pig," Alex retorted with a snort and eye roll. Blaine frowned and stepped closer, and it was only then that Alex noticed that the light wasn't coming from a lantern, in fact he didn't have have a lantern with him. The small amount of light was coming from his blue eyes. Alex wondered if hers could do that too.

"Don't you remember what I said the other day?" Blaine growled. Alex's eyes widened.

"The other day?! How long have I been here?!" Alex asked loudly. Blaine chuckled and looked up like he was pretending to think.

"Oh, I don't know. Two, three days? Maybe four? I'm not exactly sure." Blaine said with a small laugh. Alex glared in the direction of the blue light.

"You still haven't told me why I'm here," Alex snapped. Blaine scoffed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I told you." Blaine sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. This time it was Alex who scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I highly doubt you actually want my love, because if you can't tell already, I'm not one to warm up that easily," Alex said harshly. Blaine sighed in defeat and slowly walked out of the room. Once Alex heard his footsteps get quieter she got mad.

"Hey! Where are you going?! Come back here and answer my questions!" But it was no use. The door slammed shut and Alex was surrounded by quietness once again.

"Miss Holly is here for you, sir."

Blaine sighed and waved his hand arm motioning him to let her in. "What does she want now?" He asked himself with an annoyed sigh. The man disappeared to fetch 'Miss Holly' and bring her to his master. About a minute later Holly walked in alone with a grim expression on her face. Blaine raised an eyebrow as his half sister.

"What happened?" He asked as Holly pursed her lips to the side.

"Somehow they found out about her being taken. I tried convincing them that she ran away but it didn't work," she explained with a scowl. Blaine sighed and rubbed his temples as he closed his eyes.

"They're just stupid Titan slayers, they aren't going to find out anything. It's just a little obstacle in our plan. Just continue to confused them and make them believe that she ran away," Blaine ordered as he leaned back in his throne like chair. Holly sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'll try, but so far I'm not getting my end of the deal. I could also rat you out," Holly smirked.

"Then I would tell them that you helped and we have the same mother, now how would that look?" Blaine shot back. Holly glared at him with a scowl.

"Whatever," she said and walked away.

The next day Holly got up bright and early. She put a fake smile on her face and walked out of her room, leaving her roommate sleeping peacefully. After her small argument with her brother Holly had come back angry, but when Terra had told her that Levi mentioned her name she couldn't help but smile.

Maybe things were going to work out for her.

As Holly walked down the well lit hallway she noticed Levi walking out of Alex's room. She frowned and walked over to him. "Captain? What are you doing here?" Holly asked with furrowed eyebrows. Levi looked up and met Holly's confused gaze.

"Just searching for something, anything really. I shouldn't have sent her down there.." Levi said, saying the last part to himself but Holly heard it loud and clear.

"Where did you send her?" She asked with face sympathy.

"The underground. I asked her to deliver something that night because she was the only one that knew the underground and how it works," Levi sighed and shook his head, "now I have to go down there and do some questioning."

"I can do it for you!" Holly said quickly with a smile. Levi stared at her for a second with distant eyes before waving his hand. "Yeah, sure. Just be careful, I don't want another soldier going missing. Make sure you report everything back to me when you return, and bring your gear." Holly nodded and ran back to her room with a grin that reached from ear to ear. Terra was awake now and was looking at Holly with a tired expression as Holly ran around the room putting on her gear.

"Why are you so happy?" Terra asked. Holly looked up with a smile. "Captain Levi is letting me do the questioning for the underground and he told me to be careful. That means he cares!" Terra smiled back and let out a laugh.

"You really do have a large crush on him, don't you?" She asked with a giggle.

"You have no idea." Holly said with a grin.


	42. Suspicion

After Holly's small talk with Terra she had ran to her horse to go to the underground. She was actually going to ask around, but she highly doubted anyone saw anything. It was dark and most people aren't surprised if someone were to get kidnapped in the underground. Down there it's basically a war that has never been won.

If you see something - you never did. That's just how it works. The consequence can and will be painful.

Holly neared the entrance to the underground and tightly tired her trusting horse up to a nearby fence. Her horse, Eli, neighed and shot up. "Calm down girl, I'll be back before you know it."

Holly smiled and petted Eli to calm her down. The horse instantly responded to Holly and calmed down. Holly pulled her hand away and started to walk through the entrance.

As she walked in the dark tunnels she got strange stares. Of course she would; she was wearing her uniform. Some people hid items they were holding as she passed but she could care less. She didn't care about them or their drug problems. She was there to get 'information.'

Holly walked up to the bar that Alex was at only nights ago. She smirked at the front of it, thinking about how Alex was taken there. Wiping off her satisfied smirk Holly opened the door. The loud noise dimmed down and the customers stared at Holly with slightly widened eyes. Even though most of them were drunk off their asses, they could still see 'The Wings of Freedom' well and clear. Holly rolled her eyes.

"A girl around this height-" Holly raised her hand to the estimate height of Alex, "-with black hair and blue eyes came here a couple nights ago. Anyone see or know anything?"

The men looked at each other and shrugged. They would think they would remember a girl in the bar, yet alone a pretty one if the girl Holly was describing was at all attractive. The bartender and owner of the bar stopped wiping the counter and raised his head. "Actually, yes. I do."

Holly slowly walked over to the owner and crossed her arms. "Well?"

The man looked over her and frowned. Something seemed off. He cleared his throat and looked her back in the eye. "She actually delivered something here. It's gone now but that's all I know. And after she left there was noises coming from outside if that helps any."

Holly rolled her eyes and kept a straight face as she leaned into the older man's. "You only saw her hand you the package. That's it. Got it?"

The man blinked and slowly nodded his head. Holly pulled away and smiled sweetly at him. "Thank you for the information!" As she walked away from the owner he couldn't help but frown. He knew he had to keep his mouth shut, and he also knew something was off about that girl. Sighing, he shook his head and continued to cleaned the counter tops.

"So they said they saw her run off somewhere?" Levi asked with a raised eyebrow and a confused expression. He had bags under his eyes and his lips were chapped. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night - why? Because he was worrying.

Yes, worrying.

Surprising right? It was to him at least. He didn't know why, but he sort of missed Alex's back talking, witty comments and sass. She was probably the only person who continued to talk to him even after he threatened her. Well, besides Hanji of course.

Speaking of Hanji, she's been studying a sample of Alex's blood. She knew she couldn't be much help to the investigation, so she decided to continue her work. So far she hasn't found anything.

Holly nodded her head and faked a sigh. "Yeah, I was hoping they could tell me where but they said it was too dark to see." Levi frowned and furrowed his eyebrows together. Why would Alex runaway? That's one more thing that he couldn't make sense of about that black haired girl. Sighing Levi gave a tight nod and turned to his office door.

"Thanks for trying at least," he mumbled and reached for the handle.

"Captain.. do you like her?" Holly asked through gritted teeth. Levi was to busy thinking to notice how forced the words were. Holly wasn't exactly sure that Levi liked Alex in that way, but there was one thing she did know; Alex took up most of his time.

Time that he should've been spending with her.

Before Alex was discovered Holly had actually gotten close to the captain. Not super close, but closer than she was now. She would talk to him almost everyday, even if it was just a small greeting as they passed each other in the hallway it still meant something to Holly. But after Alex came into his life he completely ignored her - acted like he didn't even know her and treated her like any other soldier.

Even though Alex had ruined many things for Holly, there was one good thing that came out of her reveal.

Her brother's curse could and would be lifted off. That was the main reason they were even in the walls to begin with. They had lived outside of the walls for years with their mother. Blaine's dad had fallen off a cliff when Blaine was seven. After his father died his mother didn't have to hide her affair, or her second child. It was a surprise to Blaine. He felt betrayed. The little blonde girl with brown eyes was suddenly his half sister. And she didn't even have the curse.

That was just another reason as to why Blaine had hated her.

His father had explained everything to him. The origins of his family name and all about the curse. Why it was put there, who put it there, and who could take it off. Many, many years his father had searched for a Bellerose. But he couldn't find one, the only living people he found were from a small village that lived inside a mountain. That's where Blaine's mother had the affair at.

After their mother and Holly's father passed away due to a Titan attack, Blaine and Holly sent off to find a new place. Blaine only said that, but they both knew he was going to be searching for a Bellerose. And that's when they came across the walls. Blaine was only thirteen when the Titans broke in. That's how they managed to sneak in; the attack.

After seeing all the people inside the walls, Blaine knew that there had to be a Bellerose somewhere.

"I don't know." Levi said quickly then slammed his door shut. Holly's eyes widened and she stood there frozen. He actually liked her. Or at least had some feelings for her.

While Holly was busy glaring at the door with hatred Armin quietly walked down the hallway with wide eyes. He had heard everything. It didn't take much for his brain to detect that she was lying through her teeth. The way she said it - she seemed happy? Armin didn't exactly know but he knew she was lying.

He guessed Levi was to far lost in his thoughts to notice how strange Holly sounded. Armin knew that Levi knew she was taken. He had to. That's the only reasonable situation. Armin knew one thing and one thing only - Holly knew something no one else did, and he was going to find out. Alone.

Blaine stared at the ink drawing of his family. His family. Not the one with Holly and her stupid excuse of a father. He was only five when they had that drawn. There was a lady in the village they were living at that drew wonderfully, and she got every detail. The picture had his mother, father, and him in it. They were all posed in front of a lake with smiles on their faces.

They were a happy family, but that was before everything happened. Before his father died and his mother revealed her secret affair that she had been having for years. She even explained it to him why she did it. She simply couldn't keep up with his father's searching for the people who placed the curse on him and her son.

They traveled a lot and she just couldn't take it much longer. She was even thinking of leaving him from it but then she became pregnant with Blaine.

It was the curse that caused his family to suffer for generations.

It was the curse that caused them to get strange and terrified looks from other humans they came across.

It was the curse that caused them to get kicked out of several small villages.

It was the curse that almost made his mother leave his father.

It was the curse that caused his mother to have a secret affair and even have a child out of it.

It was the curse that kill his father while he looked for the cure.

It was the curse that ruined his life.

And he was definitely going to have Alex take it off.


	43. The Curse

Blaine walked slowly to the room he was keeping Alex locked up in. After thinking things over he actually realized that she wouldn't be able to take the curse off when she didn't even know there was a curse to begin with. The whole time he kept her locked away in that dark room restrained by the energy stealing binds he had been blinded by the fact of actually getting the curse off.

Blaine reached the metal door and stuck the one of a kind key in the keyhole. Twisting it he heard the familiar clicking sound. The cursed man twisted the door knob and walked into the black room. The door shut itself and made a loud noise which caused Alex to snap her eyes open and wake up.

Blaine sat down in the chair next to Alex's bed and placed the lantern on the small rounded table. Alex blinked tiredly then glared at him. Blaine put his lips into a tight line before letting out a sigh and allowing his hood to fall onto his back.

"You're probably still wondering why you are here, right?" Blaine asked calmly, even though he already knew the answer. Alex rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Of fucking course not," she replied sarcastically. Blaine tightened his jaw and clenched his teeth. Alex had though right, Blaine was slightly bipolar. Not by much, but it was still there. He also had a short temper, something he formed after his father died. Sighing, Blaine closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair.

"Can you not? I was planning on explaining things to you, but I'm starting to think you aren't ready," Blaine said leaning back in the chair. Alex's eyes widened but luckily Blaine wasn't able to notice.

"I'm ready." Alex said with fake confidence. Of course she wanted to know, but it's the possible reasons that could scare her. A few days ago she would've said that with real confidence, but now? Her 'tough girl' act is almost gone.

"You've noticed the scars on my eyelids," Blaine said knowingly and Alex gave a small nod, "they were caused by you."

"Caused by me? I never even knew you existed until you fucking kidnapped me," Alex snapped.

"Let me rephrase that, your family caused it," Blaine rephrased. Alex furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a confused look.

"My.. family? How? They've been dead for years," Alex said, her voice slightly cracking at the mention of her deceased family. Blaine sighed knowing explaining the situation would be harder than he intended it to.

"Long ago, around when the Titans were first sighted your ancestor cursed mine." Blaine explained the first part of the curse's story. Alex - still confused - blinked at him and pursed her lips to the side.

"Why would they do that?" She questioned curiously. Blaine sighed and scratched his neck.

"My family possesses the same exact powers as yours," Blaine continued. Alex's eyes widened and she quickly spoke. "Seriously? Do you know how and why?" Alex continued to ask questions about her shocking power but them Blaine covered her rambling mouth with his hand.

"I know basically everything. But you need to hear the story first." He said staring into Alex's blue eyes. Alex sighed inwardly but nodded understandingly.

"The only difference is that my family's powers have been locked away for centuries, and yours have been using them for centuries," Blaine stopped to position himself in the chair, "I knew my approach was wrong, but you have to understand that my family has been searching for a very long time for yours just so they could life this terrible curse."

"You wouldn't understand the knowledge of having an incredible power and not being able to use it. There are still many things you don't know about it. What it can actually do, how it can feel. The scars on my eyelids cause pain. It was an extra your ancestor added with the curse just to make the Schroeder's pay for one mistake," Blaine said, his eyes slowly drooping.

The name 'Schroeder' sounded familiar to Alex but she couldn't place her finger on where she heard it before. "What was the mistake?" Alex dared to ask.

"I'm not exactly sure, actually." Blaine said with a small sigh and shrug then continued on with the story he was telling.

"My father searched for a Bellerose until he died. The same went for all my family members that had the curse. After my father died I found this wall. It sneaked in during the attack on the walls, so that's how I got in." Blaine said truthfully.

"Wait, you didn't live here your whole life? How did you survive out there?" Alex asked. She didn't know why, but she actually felt bad for the man that sat beside her. Just think about it - his family has been curse for centuries by hers and have been trying to find them. Although, she was slightly excited and happy that someone could explain the answers to her powers.

"I lived outside the walls. Every Schroeder did except for me. It wasn't that hard, we found small villages to live with while we searched," Blaine answered.

"But as I was saying, the curse. You are the last of the Bellerose family, the only one who can take it off. I thought that asking for your love would do the trick but that was stupid and dumb of me to even think about asking that. So can you take this painful curse off of me?" Blaine asked staring into Alex's eyes.

Alex stared right back into his with wide eyes. There was a reason why her ancestor put the curse on his, but that was a long time ago. Alex and Blaine aren't their ancestors, they're completely different people that just share the same last name and blood as them. Blaine doesn't even know the exact reason why the curse was placed.

"I will on one condition," Alex paused and slowly blinked her eyes, "you tell me everything you know about my powers."

Blaine's eyes widened and he held back a grin. He was actually doing it - he was actually going to get the curse lifted. His dead family member's souls won't have to suffer any longer, and he will be able to continue with is father's dream. The dream that every Schroeder has had.

"Deal," Blaine said grinned. But little did Alex know that he was smirking on the inside.

Armin stared questioningly at Holly inside the mess hall. Holly was trying to talk to Levi, but he kept waving her off which was making Holly frustrated. There was something wrong about her, Armin could just feel it. Right after Alex went missing Holly suddenly came out of the shadows and made friends with Alex's.

Not only that, but she kept trying to get Levi's attention.

Putting the pieces together Armin noticed something strange about it. Suspicious even. Holly had always tried her best to not be noticed from what Armin could see. He actually never noticed her until Alex's disappearance. But then suddenly she's talking to Eren and them and trying to win the captain's attention.

Holly frowned once Levi sat down with the rest of the squad leaders but then forced a smile and walked over to the table Armin and the rest of the group were sitting at.

"You're the one who started it!" Eren growled.

"Oh really? Who was the one that dumped water all over me?" Jean growled back with an eye roll.

"I told you it was an accident!" Eren exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air.

"Tch. Like I'd believe a think coming out of your lying mouth," Jean snapped.

"Lying mou-"

"Hey guys!"

Everyone looked up to see Holly and smiled and gave her a small wave, except for Armin and Mikasa. Mikasa just glanced at her and gave her a small nod then went back to trying to pull Eren away from Jean and Armin just stared at her with furrowed eyebrows. Holly smiled at the group until her eyes landed on Armin and she frowned.

"What? Is there something on my face? Oh god don't tell me th-"

"N-No, there isn't anything on your face," Armin assured looking away with a small frown. Holly let out a sigh of relief and took a seat next to Armin which made him shift uncomfortably. Luckily, Holly didn't notice it but Mikasa did and gave a confused look to Armin. Armin caught her gaze and widened his eyes.

Mikasa sensed something off and stood up from the table. "Armin, can you help me clean the stable out? I was supposed to do them earlier but I forgot to," Mikasa asked. No one seemed to notice that Mikasa was obviously using this as a way to talk to Armin, which was good. Armin nodded and stood up then followed the raven haired female out of the building.

Once they knew they were safe and out of ear range, they stopped. Mikasa crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the blonde headed boy. "What?" Armin asked avoiding Mikasa's gaze. Mikasa noticed this and narrowed her eyes.

"What's wrong? Why are you acting like that?" Mikasa asked. Armin stared at the ground and let out a sigh.

"It's Holly." He admitted. His plans of figuring this out alone was now ruined.

"So you noticed too?" Mikasa asked with surprised Armin. Armin's head shot up and he stared at Mikasa with wide eyes.

"It didn't take long for me to notice her sudden change in attitude after Alex went missing," Mikasa explained. Armin nodded in agreement. "I didn't notice until yesterday. I overheard a conversation between her and Levi. He sent to her to do some questioning in the underground and she said that the people saw her run off somewhere. And we both know that's a lie. I could even hear it in her voice."

"Do you think she knows something about Alex's disappearance?" Mikasa asked uncrossing her arms and glancing around the area.

"I don't think. I know."

"I feel so stupid!" Reiner growled and banged his head on his pillow. Bertholdt frowned and stared at the wall of their sharing room. They had overheard Mikasa and Armin's conversation and figured it out. They both knew that someone was working on the inside, it was just reasonable.

They don't know why it is Holly, or how it is Holly, but it is Holly. That's the only thing they knew for sure. Since it is Holly, she knows about the curse. She knows where Alex is being kept, and she knows where the last Schroeder is. Even though both Reiner and Bertholdt wanted to know why Holly was the one to know these things, that wasn't their main priority.

It was to find Alex and take her away from these walls and disappear.

"If she lifts his curse.." Bertholdt trailed off.

"I know." Reiner sighed.

"This is going to be hard," Bertholdt warned. Reiner nodded and sat up on his bed.

"We're warriors, we will finish our mission. But right now we have to stop Alex from lifting it." Reiner said and his best friend nodded in agreement.

Holly walked alone silently in the hallway the next day. She was humming to herself when she sudden felt the presence of two people behind her. Before she could turn around and see who they were, one of them spoke.

"Don't turn around and keep walking." Reiner ordered. Holly frowned but kept her head forward.

"We know you know about Alex and the curse," Bertholdt admitted. Holly's eyes widened slightly but covered it with a smirk.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Holly said innocently. Reiner scoffed from behind her. "Cut the shit Vanbree, we know. And we won't hesitate to reveal that you know either."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you," Holly said with a smug look then stopped in her tracks, "you don't think I wouldn't recognize your voices Reiner and Bertholdt, right?"


	44. On Our Way

"Just tell us where she's at, Holly." Reiner demanded after Holly turned around. Holly smirked and rolled her eyes. "Nope." She said popping the 'p.' Reiner growled and grabbed the collar of her shirt, lifting her off her feet. "Look, I don't know why or how you even know about this stuff but all we need to know if where she is," Reiner snarled.

"Why should I tell you?" Holly sneered with a scowl. Bertholdt glanced around to make sure no one was around since both Reiner's and Holly's voices were slightly raised down. "Do save the rest of humanity, obviously." Reiner snapped and tightened his grip on her shirt. Holly let out a chuckle, that soon turned into a full on laugh.

Both boys stared at her in confusion. "What's so funny?" Bertholdt asked, pure confusion spread across his face. Holly looked over at him and died down her laugh. "Aren't you two the ones that killed twenty percent of it?" Holly asked with a smug looked on her face.

Bertholdt's and Reiner's eyes widened and they both glanced at each other worriedly. "How do you know if was us, huh?" Reiner asked. Holly sighed and rolled her eyes. "I know more than you think, Armored Titan."

"Just tell us where Alex is!" Reiner shouted, frustrated.

"No can do. Everything all set, she's agreed to lift the curse. Soon, my brother will get all his powers and the Schroeder's name will be to most powerful once again," Holly smirked.

"Wait.. brother?" Bertholdt asked, still confused. Holly smiled and let out a chuckle. "Half brother, his father had the curse."

"I'm going to report all of this to Captain Levi," Reiner said. Holly raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? I wouldn't do that if I were you. I know your guys' little secret too," Holly said with a winning smirk. Bertholdt seemed to notice her liking of smirking. "Why are you doing this? You have no reason to." Reiner asked, his voice lowering.

"Oh, but I do. Once my brother becomes ruler I'll be right by his side. What would you call it? Princess. And then Levi won't be able to say no to me," Holly explained. Reiner's jaw tightened along with his grip. "That won't happen if he dies," he says.

"He won't. My brother will make sure of that. That was our deal," Holly shot back. "You're so pathetic, you know that? Captain would never like a girl as selfish and stupid as you. I should just kill you right here, right now." Reiner growled.

"Do it. I dare you." Holly urged. Reiner gritted his teeth and raised a fist, but Bertholdt quickly acted and pushed it down. "If you kill her, we won't get any information out of her," he explained. Reiner stared at him for a couple of seconds before dropping Holly to the ground. She let out a whimper when she fell to the floor but quickly played it off and stood up.

"I hope you guys understand that there's no way to stop it now. The curse will be lifted any minute now," Holly smiled then turned on her heal. Bertholdt quickly grabbed both of Reiner's arms to hold him back as Holly trotted away. "Don't worry, we'll find a way," he assured even though he couldn't believe his words himself.

"And you guys are serious?" Levi asked after a long moment of silence. Armin and Mikasa both nodded their heads and kept a straight face. They both just told Levi their theory about Holly and how they think she knows something about Alex. Although they could be completely off, it was still something they couldn't just look over.

Especially Levi.

Since Alex has been away he'd confirmed his feelings towards her. Yes, feelings. He's human; he still has them. He's just better at hiding them. Probably one of the best. He didn't want it to happen, but it happened. It was official, he liked Alex. After Holly had asked him the question and he replied with 'I don't know,' he went in his office and thought about it for a long time. A really long time.

Levi gritted his teeth and swore under his breath. He felt so stupid, so blind. All along, the person who continued to try and help was apart of it. "I've followed her to this one place before after noticing her behavior. I tried to get in, but there were guards all over the place," Mikasa spoke up. Armin's eyes widened.

"Mikasa! You didn't tell me that!" He gasped. Mikasa side glanced him, but didn't respond.

"Do you remember where it is?" Levi asked eagerly and with wide eyes. Armin frowned in confusion as to why the captain was so eager. Mikasa nodded. "Yes, I could lead you guys there."

"I'll round up everyone. You guys find Holly and knock her out then tie her up and put her in one of the cellars in the basement, got it?" Levi asked putting on the last of his gear. The two cadets saluted, "Yes, sir!" Levi nodded his head towards the door. "Now get going."

Armin and Mikasa nodded and quickly walked out of the room. Levi came out not long after and walked down the opposite way they went. "Do you have any idea where she might be?" Armin asked and Mikasa shook her head. "I think we should split up and try finding her, I'd be our best chance."

Armin nodded in agreement and took a left while Mikasa took a right. Armin, already giving up, sighed and slumped against the wall. He felt so hopeless, he couldn't find her. Maybe Mikasa already found her?

"Armin? What wrong?" A familiar voice asked with concern. Armin's eyes shot open and he looked straight at Holly. Armin quickly straightened his poster and glared at her. Holly looked at him with confusion as he started closing in on her.

"Armin? What are you doing?" Holly asked confusingly. Armin put both thumbs on her presser points. "I'm sorry Holly, but you deserve this," he said before applying pressure to them. Holly's body when limp and slid down the wall. Armin sighed and removed his hands from her head.

"What did you do?" Armin looked over to see a wide eyed Eren. Armin's eyes widened and he quickly tried to find the words to say. "Armin! Why did you do that!" Eren asked, raising his voice. Suddenly Mikasa was beside him cover his mouth with her hand.

"Holly knew where Alex was and was a part of her disappearance. Captain told us to knock her out then drag her to the cellars. We know where Alex is and we're going to be leaving soon to retrieve her," Mikasa explained bluntly then detached her hand from Eren's mouth.

"W-What?" Ern stuttered, obviously not believe what he was just told.

"Just help me carry her," Mikasa ordered and grabbed Holly's arms. Eren slowly nodded and walked over to her legs then bent down and grabbed them. "Armin, find Captain and tell him we did it." Mikasa said. Armin nodded and quickly went to find Levi.

"Sir, we successfully knocked her out and locker her up," Armin said as he saluted to Levi who was getting on his horse along with the other members of the Survey Corps. It was dark out, so it was hard to see. But some of the soldiers had lanterns with them which helped out a little bit.

"Good. Get on your horse, once Ackerman shows up we'll be leaving." Levi said boldly. Armin nodded and walked over to his horse and got on it. Not long after he saw Mikasa and Eren running down to the stable. They both got on their horses in a flash and before Armin knew it, the whole Survey Corps was following Mikasa to save Alex.


	45. End

**Remember this was written 2 years ago, and was my first story ever.**

"So what am I doing again?" Alex asked, confused, while she awkwardly glanced around the dark lit room. Blaine had taken off the restraints (which Alex had suddenly gained all her energy back after they were off) then blindfolded her and lead her to the room they were now standing in.

The room was small, about the size of a master bedroom's walk in closet. There were several vanilla scented candles holding a single speck of fire scattered around the room to form a perfect circle. Alex had to admit; the room smelled nice. It sort of reminded her of when everything was fine, when both her parents were alive. But yet there was that small amount that smelled unpleasant. Alex couldn't place her finger on it, but she would get hints of in when she inhaled.

"You remember those words you read?" Blaine asked and Alex nodded. There was this old book, the pages were slightly burnt along the edges and were slowly getting smaller and smaller by the touch, and the bridge of the book was thin as the paper itself indicating it could all fall apart in a single wrong touch.

The book had many drawings, almost all of them gave Alex chills, and random letters throw together. Except they weren't random, they were an ancient language that no one but Blaine can speak fluently and translate. Alex's father knew, and so did her other family members. There were once small villages that knew it before the titan's came, but they all died out.

"Well say those words out loud while holding my hands, and make sure you keep your eyes locked on mine. Don't stutter or mispronounce the words," Blaine explained.

"What happens if I do?" Alex questioned, obviously curious. Blaine sighed. "I don't know, but I don't want to find out either." Alex nodded understanding why he wouldn't - this is magic, right? Or something very similar. Alex didn't really know anything anymore.

"Okay, you ready?" Blaine asked. Alex took one last glance around the room and bit her lip before giving him a small nod. Blaine smirked behind the shadows and walked over to her. "Great. Let's get started."

"Are we almost there?" Levi shouted in the wind impatiently. His teeth were slammed shut and his jaw was clutched tightly. He had his eyebrows furrowed together and he's eyes were squinted as he pushed forcefully through the wind. Mikasa kept looking forward as she kicked her horse in the side to tell it to go faster. "Yeah, just a few more turns!" Mikasa shouted back at him.

Levi groaned inwardly but kept a straight face - well, actually it was a bothered and angered face but Levi told himself it was straight. "Do you have any idea who took her?" Eren asked his adoptive sister who rode in front of him. Mikasa shook her head. "No! But they aren't going down without a fight with all the guards surrounding the place!"

Eren huffed and looked to the side. It was dark out now, the only sign of light coming from candles and lanterns inside the houses; and the lanterns some soldiers hand with them but they were all spaced out so Eren couldn't see that well.

Uncomfortable and nervous silence rested around the Survey Corps. It was like they just excited the wall and were now riding on horseback outside of it to try and gather information. New cadets were glancing around worriedly, not exactly knowing what they got into. Eren's group of friends followed behind Erwin and Levi who were following Mikasa.

Erwin had stayed silent this whole time. He was trying to think of a plan, any plan, really, since they didn't have time to make one before they left. But without knowing the layout of the building or how many guards there were and where they were placed Erwin was getting nowhere.

Mikasa took a sharp left and stared wide eyed at a two story large brick building with guards surrounding it. "That's it," she said and pulled the reins on the horse to tell it to stop, "this is where Holly's been going every other day."

Blaine took Alex's hands in his. Alex almost flinched at the coldness of his, but she know her hands probably weren't any better. Letting out a nervous sigh, Alex tilted her head up and looked right into Blaine's blue eyes. His scars were even more noticeable being up close and Alex couldn't help but let her eyes stare at them.

"They won't be there once this is over," Blaine smiled. Alex smiled weakly and went back to looking into his blue orbs. Inhaling the sweet vanilla aroma, Alex began saying the words. The words seemed so familiar yet foreign coming out of her mouth. As she said the first two words then continued onto the third, the orange flames of fire suddenly turned blue.

Alex's eyes widened slightly but she forced herself not to look away from Blaine's eyes. As she said the fourth word she couldn't help but rethink her decision. Was she doing the right thing? What was Blaine going to do once the curse was off and his powers weren't locked away in his soul?

Alex bit her lip as she started to say the fifth word, half of the words, when suddenly a loud bang interrupted her.

Levi immediately pulled his horse to a stop and hopped of of it. "Wait, Levi! You can't just go running in! We need a plan!" Erwin yelled after him, but Levi already had his mind made up and there was no changing it now. "I don't care or have time for your shitty ass plans! I'm going in!" Levi shouted back, grabbing the attention of the nearest guard.

The guard's eyes widened when he recognized the man approaching him was Humanity's Strongest, and the man they had to be most carefully of. "W-What are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be here!" The guard shouted, panicking. Levi growled and kicked the guard in his lower regions. The guard bend over quickly clutching his disturbed manhood.

Levi frowned and decided the kick the guard one last time, causing him to fall to the ground in groan from the extra amount of pain. Levi disappeared from Erwin's (and the whole Survey Corps') sight which lead him to curse under his breath. "Levi.. you idiot," Erwin muttered then turned to the soldiers that were waiting for his command.

"We'll all charge at them and take them out then charge right in, got it?" Erwin shouted at the cadets. Everyone saluted and Erwin nodded. "Go!"

Levi was already standing at the backdoor since when he took one glance at the front there were too many guards for him to handle. And to his luck, he had circled around the building and found a backdoor. It was wooden and old, but there were two guards guarding it. Of course, Levi took them out without much effort.

Levi tried opening it; but it didn't budge. 'Locked,' Levi thought then stepped back from it. He lifted his right foot up and kicked the door down with only a single grunt escaping his mouth. He quickly walked in with clenched fists and muscles. Looking closely, the veins of his neck were slightly popping out.

Levi checked the first room he saw - nothing.

Erwin checked the first room he found - nothing.

Levi checked the second room he saw - empty.

Erwin kicked the next door down - empty.

Levi barged in with his shoulder with the third door, saw nothing, and groaned in frustration. She was so close but so far.

Erwin had Hanji check the third door but she came back and reported with nothing.

Finally, Levi and the main group of people - Hanji, Mike, Erwin, Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Reiner, Sasha, Connie, Bertholdt, Jean, Christa, and Ymir - that followed closely behind Erwin met up with a single wooden door in between them. Levi looked at Erwin; Erwin looked at Levi. They were both thinking the same thing, but Levi was the one to act faster.

Just like he did with the backdoor, Levi brought his foot up and kicked it. The door went down with a thud and Levi's eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

Alex was holding some random guy's hand - probably the one who kidnapped her in Levi's mind, but still, he didn't like it - and there were blue flamed candles surrounding them. The man's eyes were the same shade of blue as Alex's, except he had something on his eyelids. Levi squinted and tried to make it out, but he could only see what looked like flames.

But the scarred flames weren't full anymore; and Alex noticed that. With every word she'd said, a part of the scar would fade into Blaine's skin. At the loud outburst, Alex couldn't help but tear her eyes away from Blaine's. Blaine's eyes also widened once Alex looked away. The candles flickered quickly from the disruption.

"Levi.." Alex whispered and stared at him like she was seeing a ghost. Except it wasn't a ghost. No, not anywhere close to one. It was probably the last person Alex thought about while in that dark room. Levi's eyes stayed wide as he stared at Alex in, well, a mixture of feelings. But as Alex went to run over to him and embrace him in a hug for finding her, Blaine's hand tightened around hers.

Levi snapped out of his trance and glared at Blaine. "Let go!" Alex ordered Blaine, but he only dug his nails deeper into her flesh. "No. It's not complete," Blaine said darkly.

"I don't care. I don't want to complete it anymore," Alex snapped, her old self starting to kick in. Alex scowled once she realized she had trusted the man who kidnapped her. Why would she even think of that? Damn, she felt stupider than she thought.

"We made a deal," Blaine growled and tightened his muscles.

"Deals over. Let me go you freak," Alex spat. Levi attempted to run at Blaine with his blades but something forced him back. Alex stared at Levi in confusion, knowing that it wasn't her that just did that. But then she glanced at Blaine. His blue eyes glowed faintly, but still glowed. Whenever Alex would use her powers her eyes would glow, just brighter and more blue than his.

And Alex knew why; only half of the curse lifting was complete. Mean Blaine only half some of his powers, but they aren't as strong as they could be.

Alex gritted her teeth together and ripped her hands away from his. Blaine seemed surprised at first but soon his expression turned into a scowl. "Alex! I got this, just go!" Levi tried telling her but Alex just shook her head.

"Sorry, Levi, but you're no match for him. Plus, this is my fight, not yours." Alex pointed out and swung a fist at Blaine. Blaine, who was distracted at the feeling of power, got hit right in the head. Blood flowed down from his skull and he hissed in pain. "You fucking bitch."

"You're one to talk," Alex snickered and tried to punch again but Blaine saw it coming this time and dodged it. It went on like that for awhile, punching, dodging, kicking, blocking. And Levi couldn't do anything about it, none of them could. There was a faint force field surround the two.

"I still haven't exactly tried out my new powers, have I?" Blaine asked with a smirk. Alex's eyes widen and Blaine's fingernails grew three inches longer and turned black. Before Alex could move an inch, or Levi could attempt to break through the force field one more time, Blaine dragged the long black nails across her skin, poising her.

Alex's eyes felt droopy and she stumbled until she fell to the floor. Everyone who was shouting her name blurred out and she only focused on the ceiling above her. She didn't even feel pain, just numb. Numbness all over, and everywhere.

"I'll be taking my leave now. But this isn't over Alex Bellerose," Blaine said lastly before ramming into the wall and getting away.

"He's getting away someone get him!" Levi shouted with a red face. Hanji walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "He's already gone now." Levi cursed and slammed his fist into the wall.

"I think she'll be fine," Christa spoke up after observing Alex's injury. Levi stopped and ran over to Alex. She coughed as he knelt down next to her and held her hand.

"We'll find him, I promise." Levi promise as he squeezed Alex's hand. Alex gave him a weak smile and struggled to sit up. "Get a carriage ready," Levi order. Everyone nodded and left the duo alone in the room.

"Here, let me help you." Levi offered softly and helped Alex up back lifting her by the arms. Alex, feeling weak and tired, fell onto Alex right when he let go. Levi stepped back, surprised, before wrapping his arms around her weak body.

"Why are you being so nice?" Alex mumbled into his chest. Levi's cheeks tinted red and he looked away.

"I love you." Levi said so quickly that Alex was barely able to understand what he said. And he hoped she didn't, too. Alex smiled against he chest and let out a long exhale.

"I love you too, Levi."


End file.
